Beyond the Outer Gates Lies... Anti-dos and Anti-don'ts?

We gathered in the manor's kitchen. Which was bigger than the first floor of my house. Which, in turn, was a good thing, because my class was much larger than I expected.

My four girlfriends, of course. And Sona brought Tsubaki as well. But speaking of My King, I hoped her aggressive lack of cooking skill did not carry over into potion brewing. Fingers crossed. But neither Sona or Serafall brought any of their other peers. I was a bit surprised Momo and Shizukesa weren't there. They may have had other things to do. Or just opted out.

Azazel and Lasciel were also ready and eager to learn. Ajuka, too, though I had not invited him. My guess was either Az or Serafall or let him know.

Rias, Akeno, and Asia were the next three. These three I had directly invited them. It was Rias's house, more or less. And I thought they needed something to focus on, to distract them from Ise. I also invited Irina for the last reason. But the three Angels were going out on patrol with Saji and Serafall's peerage.

I also invited Koneko, but Ise's fourth girlfriend was uninterested.

I almost invited Kendra. But I realized I didn't know what using Ki instead of Mana would do to the potions. And the three youkai offered to do some Ki training with Koneko. I expected Senjutsu would still be off the menu, but they could help each other with general techniques and... whatever. I had learned more about Ki since winding up in Japan, but it still was not one of my strong points.

And finally, there was one, very specific, maid. Supposedly to keep everything tidy. But I agreed to let Venelana audit the course in return for making sure all the cameras in the room were off.

"Okay first things first," I said, giving them each a handout. I wasn't sure how Sona got twenty carbon contracts printed in an hour... Though I guess I wasn't sure how carbon copy paper was printed in the first place, so it could have been very simple and cheap. If they just had special variations of normal computer printers for these, I could see Sona owning one for her Devil contracts.

"An NDA?" Ajuka looked at it.

"You were serious?" Rias sounded amused.

"Not totally serious," I said, "Otherwise it would be a lot longer."

"Is this a magic contract?" Az eyed me suspiciously.

"Nope," I told him, "I'm not even sure it's enforceable as a legal contract. Since I don't know if I have any standing in Hell. Or in Japan for that matter. An emancipated minor is still a minor, so exactly what I can and can't do back home isn't always clear."

That got me more frowns and confused looks.

"There isn't even a penalty written into the contract for violations," I pointed out, "Though the threat of having your rep ruined for breaking the NDA should be enough for most of you, even if I didn't already trust everyone here. More or less. But I know Devils like their contracts, and I thought having one might help you out if someone else tried to force my secrets out of you. That might not apply as much to our two Fallen, but I'm hoping it's worth something."

The contract was three paragraphs of Legalize (which, like Klingon, wasn't covered by Language) Lash came up with. But basically they boiled down to two things. The first was that I and the Gremory family (since it was their property) were not responsible for any screw-ups my students might make in the potion brewing process. The second was that they wouldn't talk about my methods to anyone outside this group. Teaching them to anyone else, naturally, was right out. So Az and Lasciel could brew potions together, and even experiment on new recipes. But teach the other Grigori, or blow themselves up? Not good for them.

"You can keep the yellow copy," I said, "And the white copy goes to me."

After I collected them, I instructed, "Now turn them over, and send a sliver of magic into the page. Smallest amount you can, so you don't damage it."

That caught Sona by surprise. I guess she had forgotten I knew the Transcribe mandala.

"This is the first thing you will need to learn," I told them, "I was able to adapt one of my wizard spells into a calculated circle, to make it easier for... other people."

"That sounds like you planned to allow others to use your potion making techniques before this," Akeno teased gently, looking at my girlfriends rather than me. I ignored her.

"This is a cleaning spell," Reya said, "But why..."

"It's not just a cleaning spell," Az cut her off in excitement, "It will also purify any magic on the target, won't it?"

"No," I said sadly, "It won't remove curses or similar intentionally attached spells. It will clean any lingering magical, spiritual, or psychic residue on the item. So you won't contaminate your potions. You still need to make sure there isn't any active magic on your tools and materials."

"Still, just to achieve this," Az studied the spell.

"Anyway," I ignored him, "While everyone starts to study that, I'll show you the tools I use. There aren't that many, but you'll all need a matching set. Wizards going back through time have been using the same tools, and with a the exception of a revision to the cauldron in the 1800s, they haven't changed. I would be curious to compare them to what magicians or other groups use. Haven't had a chance to do that yet..."

I opened the box. Spread out the linen cloth. Cast the purifying spell, the calculated version, on it. Then began to set out everything else.

"The cloth itself doesn't matter," I said, "Linen, cotton, silk. Just needs to be natural fibers and undyed. Anyway, the first tool is a cauldron. It's the most important tool, and is used in almost every potion. Mine is an iron cauldron, with a quarter-inch layer of platinum on the inside and around the lip. Originally cauldrons used to be solid silver. But like I said, about 200 years ago, someone figured out the platinum worked even better than silver, and that as long as the coating on the inside was thick enough, having the pot be mostly iron is a lot cheaper and had better heat retention. Something I'm sure a lot of you could have told my wizarding forebearers. But they were a science and technology adverse group."

I unloaded the cauldron.

"Stirring rods," I explained, "Obsidian glass, lightning felled oak, silver, copper, and antler."

I purified each one in turn. More to give them chances to see the spell than out of necessity.

"Also measuring cups and spoons. Any material works, but I prefer stainless steel. And a silver knife."

Again, cleaned them up.

"Lastly," I said, "Glass beakers. No labels, mainly for the mystic aspect, but also because the chemicals of the label might be pulled through the glass depending on the potion. I recommend at least three. Personally, I have five. One each of one to four cups, plus an extra of the big one."

That reminded me.

"I'm an American, all my measurements are imperial," I explained, "If you want to translate to metric or some other system, that's fine."

I sighed.

"Okay, now that basics are out of the way..." I said more casually, "I wanted to start on the hardest part... or second hardest, depending on how you feel about memorizing formulas."

Asia tapped her fingers together. Tsubasa frowned. Everyone else seemed unconcerned.

"Do you want me to continue? Or should we practice the purification first?"

"I believe we are capable of practicing the spell on our own," Sona looked at the page again, "It is only moderately complex... Seven primary mandala with four embedded circles."

"I would like to see what this 'hardest part' is," Ajuka agreed.

"Yes," Reya nodded, "If this next step is the hardest, we will need to learn it before we can help you, Harry."

"That works," I said. Then I glanced at the 'maid', and prompted, "Miss Nela?"

She brought me over the test materials I had asked for.

"Ice cold skim milk," I told my students, "And nuggets of chilled, dark chocolate."

I dropped one chocolate into a glass of milk. I picked up my silver stir stick. Swirled it once. The milk turned muddy. A second spin, and the chocolate was fully integrated. There was a sweet smell in the air.

"Mixing magic," I said, "I haven't been able to find anything close to this in any of the calculated spells I've learned. But since all of you can manipulate you mana like I can, without needing a circle, I think you should be able to learn it. And I should be able to teach you."

I pointed to the stirrer. It was only about halfway done in the milk.

"Notice that the stick wasn't anywhere near the chocolate. The stir stick is the medium. And while the specific material and movements are important, most of what you are doing is transmitting mana, and the intent to combine, to the materials."

I set the stick down and drank the milk. It was good. The Gremory family didn't skimp on their chocolates.

"I'll mix up a glass for each of you," I told them, "So that you can each observe it up close. Feel the magic directly. Um, so, I guess if everyone wants to line up."

Sona was first. I purified the stir stick, and then dropped a chocolate into the second glass of milk. Instead of just touching the end of the stir stick as I lowered it into place, she draped her hand over mine and held the silver with me.

"That's not strictly necessary," I told the others, my voice catching. Tsubasa, third in line after Reya, gave me a wry look.

"Perhaps not," my King's voice hovered on the edge of sultry, "But I expect the extra contact will help."

"That does remind me," I addressed everyone, but Sona specifically, "You might feel an oscillation in the stirrer. Ignore that. I didn't, and that made it harder for me to learn. You are stirring and transmitting magic. You aren't trying to turn the stir stick into a jack hammer or blender. If anything, it's the opposite. The vibration is is feedback of the materials mixing against the stirrer, not the other way around."

Sona considered that, and nodded.

"That said, a warning on the warning," I countered myself, "This is your magic. Your version might not be exactly the same as mine. If you understand how blenders work, at least better than I do, then maybe it would work for you... I'm guiding you, but you have to make it work, your way. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to figure out a way to translate the mixing into a calculated spell."

I made each of them a glass of chocolate milk. Instead of fully mixing it in two circles around the glass, I slowed it down. Gave them a longer chance to observe and judge.

"Now it is your turn," I told them, when Asia will returned to her seat. Venelana brought out a glass of milk and a chocolate to each of them, and plain glass swizzle stick. Except there was a difference.

"Two percent milk and milk chocolates," I explained, then gave them a hint, "The sympathetic link between them will make it easier."

"Is this how Harry-chan learned?" Serafall asked. I struggled not to frown.

"Ah, no, my... teacher started me on mixing fruit and water into juice. That will be step three for all of you, After you master this, and then the skim milk and dark chocolate version I showed you."

"Why didn't you start with this?" Asia asked innocently.

"I'm not sure my teacher knew about this. I figured it out on my own after I already had fruit juice down pat."

Of course, even it he had known, Justin wouldn't have bothered. Elaine and I had to bring home the fruit from our state mandated school lunches. Justin would cut out a slice, or take a handful of the raisins. We had to cleanly mix the fruit with a glass of water. If we succeeded, we got to drink the juice and eat the rest of the fruit. If we failed, we were forced to drink the sludge while we watched Justin eat the fruit.

Like I said, I figured out the chocolate milk thing later, and used it to teach Molly. My Padawan had learned the technique much more quickly than I had. Though it was up for debate whether that was due to my teaching methods, or Molly's natural talent and wit.

"Okay, everyone start practicing, I'll spend a couple minutes wandering around. Try to give you advice, if you want it. And then I'll start explaining the first potion we are going to mix."

I did just that. Walked around the room. Watched them stir. Judging both the physical mixing and the flow of their magic. Offering a few tips.

"Okay, everyone has managed to get the first glass mixed. Try it, please. If you want, you can drink the whole thing. But at least get a feel for how smooth the blend is."

They did. Most of them drank the whole glass.

"Okay, everyone decide if you want to try this again, or if you want to move up to skim milk and dark chocolate."

They got set up for the next round.

"While you practice, I'm going to go over the first full potion we are going to brew. This is a fairly advanced potion in terms of both the procedure and ingredients. But this potion is also good for illustrating certain elements of the brewing process."

Then I paused and chuckled.

"Also, it fits the ingredients we have on hand."

That got me a few understanding nods and even more wry grins.

"Okay, the potion we are going to brew today is a universal detoxifier..."

Asia started to raise her hand. Then she stopped. Then when she realized I had already seen her, she slowly completed the action.

"Yes, Asia?" I prompted.

"You taught us... most of us, the Chemi Cleanse spell," she asked, "if you knew that, why would you create an antidote potion? And why teach us the antidote if we know that spell?"

"Well, second answer first," I explained, "Like I said, I picked this potion for the techniques and ingredients and what you can learn from them Not the effect of the resulting potion. But as for the first question, I learned this potions years ago, before I came to Japan and started learning calculated magic. Finally, to answer the third and implied question, this potion is better than Chemi Cleanse. It can remove stuff that Chemi Cleanse can't, or would take multiple castings to remove. Also, you can have the potion on hand so you don't need to have anyone who knows CC or a similar spell."

"Or if the people who know the spell are unconscious or out of mana," Rias mused. I inclined my head to her.

"Just like learning the spell," I concluded, "better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it."

Everyone considered that. Both Kings, both Maou, and Lasciel gave appreciative nods.

"Alright, now for the nitty-gritty. The first ingredient is three-quarters cup of distilled water. The purer the water, the better. For today, our next two ingredients are three drops of black mamba venom and three drops of brown recluse venom..."

"For today?" Sona mused softly. She was trying not to cut me off, but obviously hoping I would hear and explain.

"Yes," I said, "For today. Because that is what the Gremory family on had on hand..."

Which I choose to believe was for the purpose of making antivenoms.

"...and because of the next important point in brewing potions the wizard way. The actual second and third ingredients are 'three drops of a lethal serpent venom' and 'three drops of either a lethal arachnid venom or a different lethal serpent venom'. Which I can see has our scientists frowning. Because that leaves hundreds, if not thousands, of potential combinations. Some of those venoms have wildly different chemical compositions. From the standpoint of a chemist, that's nonsensical. It shouldn't work."

"But from a wizard's PoV, that doesn't matter. We don't care what neurotoxins, amino acids, or whatever makes the venom lethal. We care about the concept of lethality. Of the general belief that these things are toxic and will kill you. That said, the more dangerous the venom, the better. And having a snake and a bug instead of two snakes is also better."

"What about substituting jellyfish venom for the arachnid venom?" Lasciel asked, her pencil blazing across her notebook page even while she looked intently at me.

"I..." looked deliberately over at Lash. Who silently gave me a nervous look and exaggerated shrug. She might have known a lot more recipes than I did. But my former Fallen brain-mate didn't have Bob's unique ability to just know what ingredients would work in a potion.

"... don't know. We don't know. So far as I know, no-one has ever tried. With what I know about potions, there is every chance it should work. But with everything I don't know about both potions and jellyfish, there are any number of reasons it could fail."

"I see," she said softly, underlining part of her notes.

"Once you've brewed a few potions and learned a few recipes, it might be worth trying," I said, "But there is also a reason those NDAs say if you try experimenting, that isn't on me."

"Okay, so take the water. Add one, two, three drops of the black mamba venom. Then use the glass based stirrer, stir twice counterclockwise. The other th..ree..eee drops, and then stir three times clockwise, starting from the opposite side of the beaker. If you do it right, it should turn this lovely shade of green."

I brewed three of the antidotes by the time we stopped for lunch. Along the way, I answered a number of insightful questions. And also a few that stretched the 'no dumb questions' cliché. I also ending up showing them one of my handkerchiefs of folded up sunshine. So that they could see the highly esoteric ingredients some potions used. But also just to show off, since it was reaching its expiration date.

I am happy and proud to report that all of them were masterfully mixing chocolate milk by the end. Most were even producing entirely palatable fruit juices.

I gave two of the potions to Venelana, per our agreement. And kept the third. We had plans for it.

"These runes make no sense," Lasciel complained, "And what is this? A pentagonal snowflake? And this is the kanji for thunder."

I picked that one up from Molly.

Then the Fallen scientist forced herself to take a breath.

"This is like your potions, isn't it?" she asked, "Concept, not actual value."

"Close," I said, "since my staff is a focus, to help me form and cast my spells easier, the glyphs are more about what they mean to me, than the actual meaning of the runes, symbols, and characters. In many cases, the meaning is similar. I still use Sowilo in my fire spells, for example. Especially since I tend to think of fire as burning away darkness like the sun. But Isa is just a straight line. It didn't really match up to ice for me. That's why I came up with my own magic snowflake symbol."

She nodded, looking at the marks again.

My Lash and I had finished marking out the symbols on the oak prototype of my new staff. My views had shifted in the last year, befriending Devils and learning calculated magic. So we discussed it, and made some changes to the symbols that were going to be on my new staff. Since it was going to be made of top grade materials and imbued, I wanted to make sure it was the best possible match for me, now and going forward.

Unfortunately, I never had the time to burn the runes into the interim version and test it out. With my old staff destroyed, not to mention my lightsaber, I needed to replace it quickly. And with the state of things, there wasn't time to create a test version. Especially since Goth Hermione left me without a focus, if they attacked before we finished the new one..

With our morning of brewing done, Lasciel and I were digging into the purple heart rod. In her case literally. I was marking each symbol with a fine point black marker. Lash was making sure I didn't screw up. And Lasciel was following behind me, magically chiseling the runes an eighth of an inch into the wood. After a double check by the three of us, I would create the channels connecting the symbols. The last step for tonight would be cleaning any remaining pen and magic residue.

Tomorrow, we'd go back at it with rested eyes. And if it was ready, we would add the imbuing threads. And then we could fill the glyphs and channels with the mythril. Last and arguably least, I'd power everything up and test it.

"I wonder if this would work for us?" she mused, "A staff like this, for the Fallen, I mean."

"Maybe," I answered, "I would think it would be tougher for you or Az, since you are scientists who have a lot of firm knowledge of the specific abilities of runes. You might have unlearn what you have learned."

"Star Wars, right?" she said after a moment. I nodded.

We continued for the next hour in near silence. A few times Lasciel had a question about what one of my original symbols meant, or why a rune was where it was.

Once I finished drawing, I went back to the beginning. Lash and I (mostly Lash) double checked her carving.

"Dresden," Lasciel said softly. I stopped and looked at her. Thankfully, she had her protective glasses on, so I didn't have to worry about an accidental Soulgaze.

"I've been considering your offer," she continued, "To help me with my... crush. And, well, I appreciate it. But.. but you are a teenager. A highschooler. You are basically a child. Letting you help with my relationship... it... it feels wrong."

"Do you honestly think that?" I countered directly.

"What?" she sputtered in surprise, "I... Of course... Why wouldn't..."

"Lasciel," I cut her off, "I know when Jehovah died, and roughly when Lumiel was created. I could be in my seventies, and the Last Angel would still be exponentially older than me. If you go by my biological or chronological age, I will always be 'basically a child' by your standards."

Then I gave her a glare, "And lets turn that around. I'm dating four women, one of whom is also older than my age squared..."

"But your girlfriends pursued you," she interrupted me, "And if we are going by numbers, then the one I should ask for advice is Iss..."

She clapped her hands over her mouth realizing what she was about to say.

"Maybe," I said softly, thinking of my missing friend, "But I'm also the one who helped Rias get through to Issei. And it's not just numbers. In terms of personality, I would say Azazel is somewhere between Ise and me. Az is more of a pervert than I am, but still not as obsessed as the guy they literally call the Oppai Dragon. And I can't see Ise diving into magical research just for the sake of fun and knowledge. As for you, I would say you are more like Sona and Reya than any of Ise's girls. Asia might be close, but would still be a distant third."

She considered the comparison.

"And what I was going to add before you cut me off, is that this isn't may first serious relationship, and I'm not a virgin. So in terms of romance and stuff, you are a 'basically a child' compared to me."

She gave me a wry grin, "Touche."

We paused for a moment. I lost my place. Rather than ask Lash, I just started reviewing from the top again.

"If I were to accept your help," she said cautiously, "what would be your first advice?"

"Well, I already gave you might first advice," I reminded her, "Clearing up Azazel's mistaken belief that you aren't interested in love, romance, sex, et cetera."

She nodded.

"Part of that but also more general..." I paused not sure if I should say it. But Lash gave me a mental push.

"You might want to... let's say 'update'... your wardrobe," I told her.

"My wardrobe?"

"Yeah," I said slowly, hoping this wouldn't be a sticky topic, "Az's misunderstanding about you? Your fashion sense isn't helping your case there."

"Maybe not," she conceded, looking down at herself, "What do you suggest?"

"The lab coat is good," I mused, "Az is the type to go for the sexy scientist look. But the super heavy wool sweater and floor length skirt? That just looks like you are saying 'no thanks'. And doesn't do you any favors."

"Look, I'm not suggesting you wear a stripper outfit like Raynare. Or even a crop top and a micro miniskirt. But maybe a nice, fitted slacks and blouse combo? Professional, confident, shows off without actually showing anything. What do you think?"

She blushed. Lasciel actually blushed. Not an angry blush or a surprised blush. Even more so than the ones Lash affected to try to trick me, this was a blush of genuine embarrassment. I looked at Lash in disbelief. I would never have imagined that look on the face they shared. I knew she was shy, but this...

"idowaderwa," she mumbled softly.

"What?" I asked.

"I don... weigh underwa," she said, slightly louder, but still not quite understandable.

"You don't weigh underwater?" I parroted, not sure what that meant.

"I DON'T WEAR UNDERWEAR!" she shouted at me. Then every bit of exposed skin she had went red as a maraschino cherry. I turned away from her, making absolute certain not to look down at her clothing again.

"Well, ahem... for both our sakes, I'm not going going to ask you any more about that," I told her. Then I continued, "But first I'll say that, there's been a lot of progress in the last few decades in terms of style and comfort. So it might be worth it for you to give underwear another chance."

"If you still don't like it," I continued after a moment, "you don't need to wear underwear with pants. Plenty of woman don't, for various individual reasons. Like the ones who don't want a pantyline, and don't like or trust the underwear that supposedly doesn't show under pants or tight skirts"

She nodded.

"But what about on top?" she queried tentatively, "The sort of blouse you are suggesting is tight. And thin. And..."

"Ah," I realized by 'underwear' she didn't just mean bottoms, "Well, again, if you give modern bras a chance and don't like them, you could wear a t-shirt or tank top underneath. I always wear a t-shirt under my school uniform's dress shirt, so if the front gaps, people won't see my scars. And also so I could take the dress shirt off as soon as I leave campus. If you wore a tank-top, you could even leave the top button or two open."

She squeaked.

"Once you get more comfortable," I added.

"I'll... I'll think about it. Because... because you are probably right."

"You don't have to change everything at once," I reminded her, "You could start with lighter sweaters. Maybe some looser, heavier material pants. But where you really might want to start is talking to... hmm. I'd suggest Rias and Sona together. Rias will give you sexier advice, but Sona's got good fashion sense, too. And she'll help keep Rias reigned in."

I gave her another moment to think about that. Lasciel nodded.

"One more thing," I mused, "The glasses work with sexy scientist thing, but maybe a new pair?"

"No," she looked up at me and grabbed the frames tighter to her face, "Not these. I would change anything else, but not these. They are.. special. They were a gift."

"From Azazel?" I guessed.

"No," she shook her head, "From Ursiel, my sister."

'Time out!'

Lash appeared next to me.

'Umm, I was under the impression Ursiel was a guy,' I prompted the Shadow in my head.

'Technically, mother and her kind don't have physically defined genders,' she said, 'Nor do I, or Bob. But we have our own gender identities. And yes, in our original universe, Ursiel was male. Here, they have physical bodies, and it seems Ursiel was made female instead of male.'

'Right,' I sighed internally, 'Bizarro world, check. Now the other questions.'

"Okay," I turned my attention outwards, "quick change of subject, why are Angels siblings? Or rather,why aren't all Angels siblings? You are all created by him, right? Why are you and Ursiel sisters, or Lumiel and Mittelt, but not the original four? I guess the last two are a special case, since He made to be twins... Is that it?"

"Yes," she confirmed, "It is all down to how He made us. If He made us siblings, we are siblings. If not, then we are no more related than most Humans are. We don't really know why He did or didn't do it. But not many of us are related. Of course as Fallen, we can have families, and the children therein are siblings."

Then she sighed. She took of her glasses. Looked at them.

"I received these in 1297," she said sadly, "Ursi was inspired by the first human spectacles, though she made them out of much better materials."

The rims were a little thicker than were currently stylish, but they were finely crafted ebony, with silver inlays. If she hadn't told me they were antiques, I might have thought they were made in the eighties. 1980S, that is.

"Of course, I didn't need them for my vision," she continued wistfully, "But as you know, she enchanted them to protect my eyes from attacks and experiments. When she gave them to me, I thought they were cute, but silly and over protective. A few years later, she was killed in action. It was one of the last battles before the cease fire."

She wiped her eyes, and put them back on.

"I've worn them every day since. And cast repair and cleaning spells on them weekly."

"Okay, the glasses stay," I said, "We'll have to consider clothing and accessories that go with them."

She smiled thankfully. Then she looked doubtful.

"How can we get Gremory-chan and Sitri-chan to help me pick out new clothing?" she asked shyly, "I don't want them to know about..."

She trailed off.

"I'm pretty sure they already know about your feelings of Az," I told her, "But if you don't want to tell them... Just say you've lost some outfits in your experiments, and want to update your look. Tell them you mentioned it while we were working on my staff, and I suggested you go to them, both as fashionable young women and as Devils familiar with shopping in Hell."

"That seems reasonable," she nodded, "Though I don't like lying."

"How many of your sweaters have you needed to repair or replace in the last two years?" I prompted, having seen some of the experiments she conducted, both alone and with Az.

She chuckled weakly and agreed, "I guess maybe it isn't really a lie after all."

"There you go," I told her, "And here we go. I think we are done for today."

"So you will clean and purify the wood," she recalled, "And then we'll check on it and continue tomorrow?"

"We can give the symbols a double check tomorrow," I countered, "But I want to give it at least a whole day for the magic auras to dissipate and settle. Especially since we're in the Underworld, not on Earth."

"Okay."

"Lasciel, thank you," I told her sincerely.

"No, thank you. This was informative. Both the work, and the talk. And for your continued help with this... new project."

Thursday morning, I checked purification. As I had suspected, it would take at least until tomorrow. I would check the symbols again later with Lasciel, but for now it was good to know for planning my day.

"Part of me wonders where you got this," I looked at the vial in Azazel's hand, "The other part is too frightened to ask."

"It's not what you are thinking, Harry-kun," the Fallen brushed it off, "I was part of the squad that originally trapped Samael, and banished him to Cocytus. I collected some of his spilled blood after the battle, and preserved it against future need. And if your sort of potion brewing can come up with an antidote that doesn't need Samael's blood or venom, then using my last vial to prove that is definitely worth it."

"I know it would still kill any of us in minutes," Kendra said, staring at the coiling red/black liquid, "But I'm very glad I'm not a serpent or dragon type Youkai."

After breakfast, we had gathered. Just the three of us. Az because it was his sample of the dragon-bane's blood. Me, for my previously mentioned brewing. And Takako, a Youkai ninja who had vast knowledge of poisons and antidotes, both normal and supernatural.

"Where do we start?" Kendra asked, pull her eyes away from the tube.

"Universal Detoxifier?" Az looked at me.

"That was my first thought," I confirmed, "Check the potion we made yesterday as a base, and see how it does on Samael's blood. I'm not expecting it to work, at least not completely, But if it has any effect, that should give us a place to start."

"Universal Detoxifier?" Kendra repeated.

"What it says on the tin," I told her, "One of my wizard type potions, that can cure any natural poison or toxin, and even many supernatural ones. Even the ones it can't fully cure, it should reduce the effect."

"It is the potion Dresden-kun taught us to brew yesterday," Azazel explained to her, "I want to test it against Samael's blood. Unless it's totally ineffective, then we can use the potion as a base for further tests and experiments."

"Hold on," Kendra glared at me, "Taught? Who did you teach?"

"Everyone who was interested, didn't already have other plans, and has the mana control to brew potions like a wizard," I told her.

"You don't think it will work with Ki?" she mused.

"I don't know," I countered, "But I'm not going to try it when I can't pay total attention to what is going on. And do you use Ki when you're mixing poison and antidotes?"

"Fair," she agreed, "And no."

"If that is settled, can we get started?" Az prompted.

"Yup," I said. Kendra nodded. But she gave me another considering glance.

Azazel took out a pipette, much finer than the eye dropper I used. He stuck it through the double gasket seal in the test tube, and extracted a tiny amount of the blood. He dripped it onto a slide, and spread it. An acrid smell filled the room.

"Do we need gas masks?" I asked, covering my nose, "Or maybe hazmat suits?"

"No," Az waved it off, "Don't touch it... or consume it, which should go without saying. But it reacts with the air, which stinks but isn't harmful."

"Okay," I said dubiously.

"The detoxifier?" he requested. I handed him the bottle. He took out a second pipette, and drew out a larger sample of the potion. He dripped an even smaller amount of my potion onto Samael's blood. The smell increased. And it began to smolder.

"Okay, maybe on the gas masks," Az changed his mind, even as he backed off.

Kendra opened the window. The she performed a set of hand seals. A steady breeze pulled the smoke out the window, cleaning the air.

"Nice jutsu," Azazel noted, "it might be worth it to come up with a spell for that, when I have to work somewhere without proper ventilation."

It's worth noting we were in a spare dining slash meeting room on the ground floor of the mansion. A room that had a bedrock foundation rather than a basement under it. But nowhere near Azazel's lab back in Kuoh Town.

"Okay, let's see what we've got," Az said anxiously, once the room cleared. He and Kendra looked at the slide under a microscope. I didn't bother. But we all cast various spells or jutsu to judge the effects of the potion on the blood, and the state of the blood.

"This is promising," Azazel determined, looking at the notes on the blackboard.

"I would have said pathetic," I told him.

The result was that the detoxifier had a minimal effect on blood. Enough that the three of us might have survived the poison if we immediately drank my full potion and then were hurried to a hospital for extended treatment. But it the UD potion would not save a dragon from Samael's cursed.

"Not at all," Az countered, "Setting aside specific antidotes specially designed to counter Samael's toxins, the only other treatment is Phoenix Tears. And this works better than some of those specialized antidotes, and almost as good as the Tears. Even Tears don't work well against Samael."

"So what should we try next?" Kendra asked, "What could we change about Harry-san's potion? Or add to it?"

"Lasciel's suggestion?" I asked myself and Lash, as much as Az.

"Replacing the arachnid venom with jellyfish venom?" he mused.

"Not exactly," I shook my head, "I was thinking of the snake venom. Samael's poisons are exponentially stronger against dragons and snakes. So I'm thinking if we take the reptile ingredients out of the potion, the potion might work better against Samael."

"I'm going to need to hear more about the potions and its ingredients," Kendra said thoughtfully, "But what about other venoms? Like stonefish or lionfish? Or poisonous frogs?"

"Platypus venom," I muttered. They looked at me like I was crazy... crazier than normal.

"I know platypus venom isn't generally considered lethal," I explained, "But in terms of magic the platypus is a chimera. A non-supernatural chimera. It's venom can help bring multiple, separate elements into a cohesive, if strange, whole. So instead of just two animal venoms, one plant toxin, and one heavy metal..."

It was a long recipe.

"... we could have three animal venoms plus the platypus venom, two plants. And also add a few more recovery elements."

"I think we need to check what ingredients we can order," Azazel sounded excited.

Georg was working with Circe to refine her anti-Devil/Wizard counterspell. It wasn't perfect, but he had to admit, there was little he could offer. A tweak here or there to make it more efficient. But his apprentice had done very well, even if he was not happy about why she created the new counterspell.

Without so much as a knock, the door to the magicians' temporary atelier burst inwards. Following quickly behind the foot he used to kick open the lab, Heracles strode in.

"Georgie, we got a present for you," the pugilist dropped a wooden box on the table. It was wrapped in numerous hermetic seals.

"What is this?" Georg demanded angrily.

"A gift," Cao Cao repeated, following Herc into the lab, "From our insider in the Gremory compound. Open it."

Georg cancelled the locking and preserving spells on the case. He put on fresh archivist gloves, and opened it. Multiple pillows of silk had been placed inside, to keep the contents in place. Georg tossed them aside. Circe moved around the table to get a better look.

It was a wooden shard; irregular and rough. It was about six inches in length, with an inch triangular cross section. One face had shattered glyphs carved into it. And it was soaked in blood, still fresh due to the spells.

"Is this..." Georg said softly.

"Dresden survived," Cao Cao said. Circe frowned in disappointment.

"This is a fragment of his staff," the spear user continued, "one of the larger ones. The only one our agent was able to save from being destroyed. You know what I want you to do."

"Curse him," Herc interjected with his normal lack of subtlety.

"Do you have anything in particular in mind?" Georg sneered at the American boy.

"Cerebral Gravitation," Cao Cao answered.

Georg blanched. Circe's eyes widened. She looked at her beloved teacher in worry.

"You know what that means," Georg said, "They will come after us."

"They may try," Cao Cao said, "But only if Dresden doesn't destroy them as he drags himself down. And if they do attack us, all the better."

"I understand," Georg sounded defeated, "Circe, go to the library pocket. Bring me Faust's Curcious Moste Grim, please."

The young woman nodded, and ran past Cao Cao. She didn't meet their leader's eyes, not just because she didn't want to be stunned by the Eye of Euryale. She also didn't trust herself to keep an even expression.

Georg pulled out a granite tablet. He started to scribe a circle into it.

We did what we could on the potion. And Azazel ordered a number of additional ingredients.

We broke more lunch.

My next project meeting was about Goth Hermione's counterspell. Az and Sona both wanted to be there. But they had leader stuff to do. Instead, it was me, Rossweisse, Shizukesa, and Momo. Really, it was meant to give me and Momo a rundown of the spell. We would start trying to figure out a counter. The larger group was going to take some time to ruminate on it. Then we'd all come together to talk about potential counters to the counter.

"It is a rather ingenious spell," Rossweisse explained while Shizukesa display the circle, "It is designed to break apart free woven magic. It will have little or no effect on calculated magic."

It was a spell designed for the artistic magic of higher order, naturally inclined magic users. Gods. Angels. Devils. Dragons. Me. Not that I was a higher order entity. I, or rather my prior universe, just used magic in a similar way. But I would bet this new threat to my friends and allies existed because Circe was targeting me.

I hated it. Not the spell, it was just a tool. Not even Circe. Not really. Even if she wasn't mind controlled, she was brainwashed by the Heroes. Sure, she made her choices, if she had freewill. But they limited her choices. Lied to her about them.

No, I hated myself. I fucked up. I got complacent. Didn't train hard enough. Never thought that something like this happened. I failed, and almost got killed. I failed, and Issei did get killed. I hurt Sona, Tsubasa, Reya, Serafall. I hurt Rias, Asia, and the rest of Issei's girls. I hurt everyone else around us.

'Harry, you...'

I cut Lash off. Shoved her into the box. Put the heaviest lock on it. It seemed more sturdy than normal. Good. I didn't need her nagging. Or her platitudes.

Pain pulsed behind my temples. Dull, throbbing. Pins behind my eyes, tiny bits of sharp hurting. Normally, I would have ignored it. Or taken a Tylenol. It didn't build. It wasn't like I was actually ill. It wasn't worth fighting. It didn't matter. It was all in my head. Annoyance. Sadness. Regret.

I stood up suddenly. They all turned to look at me.

"I'm getting a headache," I said quickly, "Sorry, I need some air. I'll be back in a few."

I strode to the front of the mansion, walking quicker than most could run.

"I need some air," I repeated to the guards, and shot past them.

Into the forest. Ancient trees, damaged in our battle. Another way I fucked up.

I walked deeper into the woods. Deeper into Hell.

It was what I needed. What I deserved.

Author's note: Sorry this took a while. IRL and my muse had other plans.