Check my profile for my writing schedule. Before you PM me or ask me in a review. Seriously, you have to go to my profile in order to send me a PM in the first place and the schedule's right there at the top. You literally can't miss it.
Beta'd by BigCC
Read, Review and check out my other stories.
Disclaimer: I do not own Highschool DXD.
"Let's go!" - Regular Speech
'Oppai!' - Thoughts
[BOOST!] - Sacred Gear/Ddraig Speech
Chapter 24: Upgrades, Spells and Dungeoneering
Later That Night
Throne Room, Issei's Dungeon
Yawning loudly, Issei adjusted himself slightly as he sat in his throne, watching as the last of the changes he'd set into his Dungeon settled into place.
First and foremost, he'd purchased an add-on that raised the minimum and maximum levels of all of the 'mob' monsters in his dungeon as a basic boost. While they'd done fairly well against those Stray Priest grunts; until they'd met the [Eternal Mud Golems], the Fallen had pretty much steamrolled their way through the upper levels without receiving anything more than minor or cosmetic damage from his basic monsters, nor having any real issue in destroying any of them. Hopefully boosting their levels a bit would make them a bit more of a challenge for the next group that came through, since higher levels meant higher stats, and higher stats meant more health and stronger attacks. That was Dungeon Mastery 101.
Next, he'd reviewed the footage of both invasions again, adjusting the positioning and number of traps spread across the first five floors to be more efficient based on what he'd managed to learn on how actual invaders would move and react. Issei had noticed that, for the majority of the time at least, both the Stray Priests and the Fallen had kept to the centre of the corridors as they travelled, so he had positioned more of his trap triggers along the central length. He'd also noted that, when presented with a branching path, they'd normally stick to heading forward in a straight line whenever possible, so he'd rearranged the floor plans a bit, creating more dead-ends and traps along the 'straight path' options.
Next had been reviewing the performance of all of his Bosses. Overall, he liked to think they had all performed very, very well. If Raynare and Dohnaseek had been closer to Mittelt and Kalawarner in terms of raw power, the group likely wouldn't have been able to even reach their perfect counter in the [Ooze Avatar, Crawling Chaos] without losing at least one or two members along the way, if they reached it at all. Still, he'd noticed a few weak points that he could shore up.
[Shakkōmon, the Divine Metal Dogū], was a good guardian for the first floor of his Dungeon, with all of its stats and abilities being almost perfectly balanced. However, the issue came with its final phase when it shrunk. While the massive boost to speed and agility that the shift granted it were impressive enough, the debuffs it inflicted on its defences meant that a single solid blow from a fast-enough enemy would be enough to finish it in a single blow, as Dohnaseek had proven. The same would likely happen to anyone who had a more wide-area attack ability or simply an ability to spam attacks fast enough to get in a lucky hit.
Issei's solution was to use another option of the Boss Room, the [Minion Spawn] feature. A quick script addition would now have a number of high-level [Dogū Golems] spawn from the chamber when [Shakkōmon] entered its second phase, programmed to keep away from the invaders and focus on harrying and distracting them while supporting [Shakkōmon]. Those would hopefully prevent the next group of invaders from focusing their attention on [Shakkōmon]'s new form and distract them enough to allow the Boss-Tier Dogū to use its new speed and agility to strike from surprise.
The [Occult Device: Guardian Golem] was probably his most gimmicky boss monster, but its variable and constantly shifting form had made it a difficult opponent for the Fallen to develop a solid strategy against. However, it had a key weakness that the Fallen had taken advantage of, allowing them to clear it with the least amount of damage taken among the Floor Bosses; its transformations took a few moments and Invaders were not locked in a cutscene whenever it transformed. That had allowed the Fallen to hammer away at the [Guardian Golem]'s core whenever it transformed until they eventually managed to break through. This was another problem that was quickly and easily solved with the [Minion Spawn] feature, this time summoning a couple of high-level [Golem Dragons] to act as mobile walls for it to hide behind whenever it transformed. He'd also altered the boss room's design as well; instead of remaining a large and barren room, it would now shift whenever the [Guardian Golem] did, adding or removing terrain features that would better suit whichever form his [Guardian Golem] assumed.
[The Crawling Dragon] had proven itself to be an excellent and highly effective boss, but Dohnaseek had exposed a glaring weak point that he hadn't even considered. Namely, that if someone was crazy enough to jump down its throat when it was breathing fire, then they would be able to bypass a lot of its defences by attacking its more vulnerable internal structure. He'd been forced to redesign it a bit after realizing that, yes, there were likely other supernaturals out there that were indeed that crazy. He'd ended up replacing the internal flame generation chamber with a magic circle that would be carved into the back of its stone mouth, with nothing further within. Yes, this had reduced the power of its flame breath attack by a bit, but it was a fair trade for removing such a glaring weak point. Issei had also decided to start incorporating environmental traps in this Boss Chamber, in this case trap mechanisms set up that would spit out gouts of fire at various points along the walls and floor that would reset at random, to be better distract and impede attackers, though these were only set to start activating once [The Crawling Dragon] fell below half its health.
[Bandari, the Terracotta Sorcerer], the Fourth Floor Boss, was the only one that Issei decided didn't need any real overhauls. It was already fast, strong, manoeuvrable, and had a wide array of 'spell' attacks to draw on in order to harry and snipe at foes with while summoning [Terracotta Soldiers] to keep invaders from dogpiling on it. [Bandari] had easily performed the best out of all of his four defeated Floor Bosses in Issei's own opinion. He did make a single addition with the [Minion Spawn] feature, having [Bandari] initially appear with two [Terracotta Generals] (which were basically high-level [Terracotta Soldiers]) to support it and having two new ones spawn every time [Bandari]'s health dipped below a certain marker.
Finally, [Ooze Avatar, Crawling Chaos] had performed exactly as he'd intended it to. Issei had designed it to act as an impenetrable wall for enemies like the attacking Fallen, and he was willing to put money down that it would work just as well against any other opponent that focused on direct, pinpoint attack power, like Angels. Granted, it would likely only really pose a challenge against lower-ranked ones; he was positive that a sufficiently experienced and high-level opponent, let alone a Cadre or Archangel, which were likely at least Level 900 or something, would have some trick that would allow them to bypass its defences.
Issei was not about to let a single victory go to his head; he was very much aware of just how big the world was and how small he was by comparison. In the grand scheme of things, Raynare's Flock had been little more than grunts. Maybe they would count as elite grunts, but in comparison to the real monsters that were out there, they were not all that impressive. He'd watched enough anime and played enough games to know that the defenders were the ones who weren't allowed to make a single mistake, not if they wanted to keep living.
The first five floors should be enough to stop any regular Purifier agents, as well as most of the field agents that the Fallen and regular Angels could send. That meant that the next five floors should be designed to counter the only other remaining 'local' threat to his safety, Devils. Devils who had a tendency to focus on magic, especially if they had a bloodline gift that aided that specialization like the Phenex's affinity for Fire, the Sitri's power over Water, and the Bael's [Power of Destruction]. That meant that Issei was going to need to shift gears as he started to plan out the next five floors.
To aid that, he'd done a quick search of [The Gamer's Store] and purchased a second copy of the [Summon: Metal Golem] Skill Book he'd acquired, which he promptly fed directly to his [Dungeon Core]. This had, in turn, granted his Dungeon the ability to spawn metal golems in addition to the earth golems he already had access to. They were far more expensive than their earthen counterparts, but also far stronger. He'd also taken the time to learn the skill himself.
[Summon: Metal Golem] (Active) [LV1, 00.00%]
A skill that, exactly as its name implies, allows you to summon forth metal golems to fight on your behalf. The strength of the golem that is summoned is entirely dependent on the amount of MP that is used in creating the golem in the first place, which is best done in a secure location to allow one the time and concentration needed to safely form and shape a powerful golem to suit your current needs. As one's level of experience with this Skill increases, they learn to 'register' golem designs as part of the spell, allowing that particular form of golem to be summoned far faster. At your current level of skill, you are limited to only a single registered golem design. While the typical theory behind golems is 'the larger the golem the more powerful it is', the truth of the matter is that it is entirely up to the creator.
- [Create Metal Golem]
The skill certainly looked like it could be a very useful one, at least it would be once he sat down and actually created a golem design. Being able to summon a personal Tank to block hits from ranged attackers would be invaluable in an actual fight, let alone when he was dungeon diving.
The next thing he'd done was use the [Floor Catalogue Expansion Ticket] to increase the number of choices he had for the actual design of the next five floors, which had resulted in a few interesting new additions; ranging from the [Mausoleum], [Castle], and [Ruins] presets, to the [Desert Palace], [Arctic Caves], and [Mountain Foundry]. There were even subtypes and add-ons available for most of them.
He'd gotten Ddraig's opinion about all of this as well, of course; after all his Dungeon was also supposed to be his and Ddraig's lair. How? Another trinket purchased from the [Gamer's Store] that let him communicate with the Welsh Dragon for up to five minutes a day. Ddraig himself had been particularly interested in the [Castle] design and asked for it to be decorated in a European style. He was apparently feeling nostalgic for the 'good old days' back in Wales.
It had actually sounded like a cool idea to Issei, so they'd gone for it. [Castle] layout, [European Castle] subtype, and he'd just finished designing and implementing his sixth floor. Then there were the four Metal Golem types that his Dungeon Core had unlocked after he had fed it that Skill Book…
[Hollow Knight Golem] (150 MP to create)
LV20-LV30
Animated suits of steel plate-mail armour, they are one of the more common ideas that come to mind when one imagines a 'metal golem.' Generally, they are a well-balanced unit with its price for creation reflecting in its abilities. Their basic load-out is a longsword and shield, but their load-out can be shifted to include spears, halberds, maces, axes, and similar martial weapons, adding a surprising amount of versatility to an already exceptional close-quarters combat unit.
HP: 1500-2000
MP: N/A
STR: 35-40
STA: 35-50
DEX: 25-35
INT: 0
WIS: 0
Skills: [Intermediate Martial Weapon Proficiency, [Knight's Pride, [Magic Resistance, [Golem Core]
[Copper Hound Golem] (100 MP to create)
LV20-LV25
Golems forged from copper into the shape of large canines, they are most often used as quick-response units when employed as guardian golems. They are remarkably fast and agile for metal golems, made possible by the relatively light metal used in their construction, and are at their most dangerous when fighting as part of a unit, harrying and distracting targets to allow their allies opportunities to land a critical blow. They are rarely used in the modern era outside of some overly-traditional wizards and sorcerers due to development of far more advanced and cheaper defensive golems. The creation of [Copper Hound Golems] is rapidly becoming a dying art.
HP: 900-1000
MP: N/A
STR: 20-30
STA: 20-30
DEX: 25-40
INT: 0
WIS: 0
Skills: [Pack Summon, [Weight of Numbers, [Feral Strikes]
[Orb Golem] (200 MP to create)
LV28-LV38
An extremely unusual golem design, with the entirety of its form being that of a car-sized sphere made of bronze. Created primarily to act as tomb guardians back before the secrets of forging iron had spread enough for it to become commonly or widely known, their primary method of attack is, obviously enough, rolling over and crushing their enemies beneath them. Certain models of this golem were created with the ability to extrude spikes as they roll which not only greatly increases the damage they can deal, but the added traction can also bolster their speed considerably. Highly effective in confined spaces like corridors.
HP: 2000-3000
MP: N/A
STR: 25-35
STA: 40-50
DEX: 20-25
INT: 0
WIS: 0
Skills: [Indomitability, [Magic Resistance, [Rare: Spike Protrusion]
[Nickel Snake Golem] (75 MP to create)
LV15-LV20
A relatively new invention when it comes to the field of golem creation, these particular golems were only developed roughly fifty years ago. Snake-like golem the length of an average adder (approximately 30 inches/80 cm in length) and made entirely from nickel; they are designed to act as mobile traps and ambushers. They primarily used to supplement existing defensive units, allowing the main defenders to draw the attention of invaders before striking from surprise with fangs that carry anything from knock-out drugs (for when one needs to capture intruders for later interrogation) to the most deadly types of toxins available.
HP: 400-500
MP: N/A
STR: 10-15
STA: 10-15
DEX: 20-25
INT: 0
WIS: 0
Skills: [Silent Movement, [Poison Bite, [Minor Constriction]
All-in-all, it was a very good 'starter pack' of golems to star building his new floors around, especially since most of them were pretty robust. The [Hollow Knight Golem]s and [Orb Golem]s were of particular interest to him thanks to their [Magic Resistance] skills, which would make them equally resistant to most form of Demonic Magic, he'd been sure to double-check that particular fact. He'd decided to keep to a fairly orthodox strategy when it came to distributing his monsters on the Sixth Floor, mostly using [Hollow Knight Golem]s with a small number of [Copper Hound Golem]s added in keep act as supplementary units.
The Floor Boss, that he'd literally just finished designing, was called [Kayneth, The Knight Golem Lord], and it honestly looked pretty badass in his opinion. Wielding a huge broadsword in one hand and a tower shield in the other, it also had [Greater Magic Resistance] to make it that much harder to actually damage. It also had a few extra tricks hidden up its armoured sleeves, so he was relatively confident that it was going to take someone quite a bit stronger than the Fallen to get past him. He was willing to make a fair-sized wager that even Rias Gremory and her Peerage would have a hard time getting by his latest Floor Boss.
Letting out another jaw-cracking yawn, Issei decided he'd accomplished enough for the night. Standing up and stretching slightly, he immediately teleported himself home before quickly unequipping all of his clothes save his bare essentials, storing his [Decoy Dummy] and crawling into bed. He was asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow.
The Next Day, After School
Himejima Shrine, Kuō Town
Rias Gremory absently tapped one delicate fingernail on her arm as she waited for the current holder of the [Gaia Gamer's Gear] to show up. As she did so, her mind absently turned to all that she'd learned about and from her newest Peerage member.
Asia was, by no exaggeration, one of the sweetest, most adorable girls Rias had ever encountered. The young nun had easily fallen into a pseudo-little sister role in her little 'family' and Rias absolutely adored her already. She was naïve, shy, and absolutely adored hugging people; honestly every interaction with the impossibly sweet girl left the Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess fighting down the urge to hunt down and have words with whichever idiots had decided that healing someone who was injured, who she hadn't even known was a Devil at the time, was reason enough to cast her aside. Honestly, for such a small mistake, they had done such harsh damage to a sweet girl.
Keeping a watch over her when she had joined Kuō Academy the previous day had also yielded some interesting results as well. The human that she had likely gone on a 'date' with had very likely been Hyōdō Issei, judging from the reports that she'd glomped him right after being introduced to their shared class.
As for the identities of at least some of the other people that had been captured by the Purifiers; Murayama Keiko, Katase Reiko, and Kiryū Aika were currently her top candidates given how they'd all flocked to Asia during lunchtime. That annoying little contract that Asia had told them she was under might protect the Red-Armoured Mercenary from Asia actually sharing any of his secrets, but there was much that she could learn from who the younger girl interacted with and how she acted. Being a Pureblooded High-Class Devil, Rias was very familiar with how contracts worked, she had practically been raised around them, after all.
'From what we know he has available, he likely could have bound her with a far stronger contract, but those always have far more dire consequences on those who break them, willingly or not.' Rias mused to herself. 'As someone with greater experience with magical contracts, I am slightly disappointed that he took such a risk, but as someone who cares for Asia, I am very grateful for it.'
Asia was now a member of her Peerage; as such, any attack or damage done to her were now Rias' duty and responsibility to avenge, and she was more than willing to consider the use of something as dangerous as a Geis as an attack against one of her precious Peerage. Whether the mercenary had chosen to forgo using such a contract to protect Asia from harm, to not incur her possible wrath, or simply out of luck, they were quite fortunate for it. As it was, while Rias was unhappy at the inconvenience even the minor contract caused her, it was not enough for her to take any form of offence for it.
Rias couldn't hold back the sigh that crossed her lips as her mind slowly turned to the rest of her Peerage. Kiba had not been himself for the past few days now, ever since the revelation that the Purifiers had been committing atrocity after atrocity in the name of their disgusting 'purity', all while acting practically under their noses. It was likely bringing up all kind of horrible memories in regards to the ghastly end of the Holy Sword Project, so it was more than understandable that her dear Knight had been a bit off recently.
…well, that was a bit of a severe understatement, she would admit, considering that Kiba had taken the past couple days off of school in order to, insofar as she could tell, sit and brood in his apartment interrupted by the occasional bout of sword kata.
As of yet, things had not gotten to the point that she felt the need to step in, but it was getting there. Kiba was far too determined to see this sorted out on his own, which was a shame. He simply had to ask for aid and he would receive it, but his stubbornness had always been one of that boy's worst traits. He had gotten better, a lot better even, over the years since she had Reincarnated him as her first [Knight], but he was still the most distant member of her Peerage, keeping everyone else at arm's length, even more than Koneko did.
Every member of her Peerage had, to steal a phrase from the Church, their own cross to bear, their own scars weighing them down. Akeno still bore the weight of her mother's murder and her father's apparent abandonment, Kiba had the marks left upon his soul by the Holy Sword Project Massacre, and Koneko had the scars left by her sister Kuroka murdering her former master before becoming a stray devil and abandoning her to act as a scapegoat. Then there was dear Gaspar, who had fled the vampires due to the abuse he received for his human blood and was terrified of his own Sacred Gear, [Forbidden Balor View]. Even Rias had the spectre of Riser looming in the background and weighing down on her in its own way.
'Really, all things considered, Sona has it easy in comparison.' the Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess thought with a sigh. None of Sona's Peerage had anything close to the same amount of emotional baggage that Rias' servants came with, but then again every single one of Rias' Peerage also far eclipsed Sona's in terms of raw power. She supposed that it all balanced out that way, most of the time.
"Turn that frown upside-down, Ria-chan." the ever-cheerful Serafall Leviathan said as she playfully poked at Rias' cheek. Despite the fact that Rias was quite a bit taller than the Maō Leviathan, by a full five inches at that, in terms of raw power Serafall likely had more raw power in the finger that was poking at her than Rias could summon up with her entire being, so she resisted the instinctive urge to slap the prodding finger away with a supreme effort of will.
"Serafall-sama, could you please not poke me?" she asked with great restraint, even as she spotted Akeno muffling giggles at her predicament. She was going to have words with her ever loving and loyal [Queen] later about simply abandoning her [King] to be used as a plaything by a bored Super Devil.
"Aw, it's fiiiiine." The Maō did cease her poking, if only to flap one hand airily in her direction. Then she tilted her head slightly in one direction before grinning. "Besides, it looks like our special guest is about to arrive!"
Sure enough, a familiar figure completely encased in red armour emerged from the shadows not a second later, looking around cautiously before seemingly freezing as he caught sight of Serafall.
"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting to have the honour of meeting with the Lady of Envy today." he remarked after a moment of silence, the flat monotone of his disguised voice somehow managing to make the statement sound accusing.
Rias winced slightly. "You try saying 'no' to her once she's decided on something." she retorted with a pout.
"Come on, it's fine, it's fiiiine." Serafall herself offered easily, before skipping over to stand directly in front of the holder of the [Gaia Gamer's Gear], looking up into his masked eyes.
"You wiped out those nasty rat-creatures that were infesting this town and were plotting to attack my precious baby sister." she offered seriously. "As So-tan's elder sister, you have my thanks. Sirzechs asked me to personally pass on his own thanks as well. We both acknowledge that we owe you a debt for dealing with a threat that we were utterly unaware of, you may call upon it as you will."
Rias was silently floored by that pronouncement. A declaration of indebtedness directly from the lips of one of the Four Maō, no matter how informal, was not something that she expected to hear today. Then again, given how much she knew that Serafall and her brother valued Sona and herself respectively, it shouldn't come as that much of a surprise that they would go above and beyond what was required to repay a debt regarding their safety.
"I…" even the mercenary seemed to have been knocked completely off-kilter by the sudden proclamation. "Such a debt is fairly extreme. As numerous as the ratmen turned out to be, they were also extremely weak to the point that even one such as I was able to kill them with a bit of effort. Even if they had all attacked from the element of surprise and brought the full weight of their numbers to bear, I very much doubt they would have been able to do any serious harm, let alone kill, either Rias Gremory or Sona Sitri, although I cannot say that your sister's Peerage would have emerged from such an attack unscathed."
The redheaded Devil noted that her own Peerage had not been included in the possible list of casualties from such an attack and so took the unspoken compliment as it was intended.
"The fact that anyone would dare to plan such an attack on our dear sisters in the first place is enough to have both Sirzechs and I quite angry, to say the least." Serafall replied with a cold smile and Rias gulped as she felt the temperature around them plummet as the Super Devil's magic reacted in response to her negative emotions. "Even if no harm was likely to come from it, you still removed a threat that we failed to even notice existed, so our debt stands. You may call upon it when you need to."
"…very well. I shall not call upon it frivolously." the mercenary acknowledged. "Now, onto the subject of why I came here to begin with, I take it that your negotiations with Azazel were fruitful?"
"Yeppers!" the Maō's personality reverted to normal in a flash as she gave the man a 'V' with one hand, a smirk on her lips. "He folded like he'd been dealt a bad hand in poker. So long as you agree to release Mittelt, Raynare, and Kalawarner, he has agreed to all of your demands."
In response, the mercenary merely clicked his fingers, making a magic circle appear at his side. In a small flare of light, three figures appeared standing in it a moment later. The eyes of everyone present were instantly drawn to the blue-haired one that was lying on the ground, dressed in a gimp suit and gagged mask.
"What." Rias asked flatly, not even bothering to try and hide her confusion at the sight before her.
"My powers are still fairly new to me, and my base's [Gaol] is even newer than most, it's not like a Sacred Gear comes with an instruction manual after all." the red-armoured mercenary defended himself with a tired sigh. "Kalawarner, the one flopping about like a landed fish, apparently lost her composure about an hour after she and her fellows were imprisoned and started to try and punch through the walls. This triggered my [Gaol]'s built in defences to keep prisoners from harming themselves, and this is apparently how it does so."
"And the mask?" Akeno asked, a blush on her cheeks as she savoured the sight of one of the oh-so-proud Fallen tied up and ready to be used as a plaything.
"She wouldn't shut up. She was screaming, ranting, and raving like some kind of madwoman." the black-haired one, Raynare, offered sourly. "We were honestly just grateful for it shutting her up. If I never have to listen to this braindead bimbo blather on inanely again, it will still be a millennium too soon."
"It is worth noting that it was Kalawarner and Dohnaseek that smuggled a Fallen Sacred Gear Extractor into their base without Raynare's knowledge." the mercenary added. "I don't think you will need three guesses as to exactly who they had intended to use such a device on, Rias Gremory."
'Asia…oh this fucking bitch!' Rias' vision instantly went red, black and crimson streaks of her [Power of Destruction] suddenly dancing across her frame as she glared down at the bound Kalawarner. The Fallen immediately froze mid-struggle before instinctively curling herself into a ball in fear.
"Easy does it there, Rias-chan. Easy." Serafall offered soothingly, patting her head and easily ignoring the small currents of the Bael Family's inherited gift that the girl was currently leaking thanks to having dealt with her far more powerful brother Sirzechs for literal centuries.
"Kindly restore her clothes to her and remove the mask." the Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess requested flatly. "I believe I need to make something clear to this bitch before she leaves."
"As you wish." the mercenary acquiesced with a nod. With another click of his fingers, the gimp suit and mask vanished, replaced with a maroon coat, open at the top to expose her décolletage, a matching miniskirt, and black high-heeled shoes. Kalawarner briefly looked up and around in confusion before she suddenly paled as she caught sight of the still clearly angry Rias Gremory, before curdling completely as when she noticed that one of the Four Maō was present.
"Kalawarner, I am going to be releasing you and returning you to Azazel in the Underworld in the next few minutes." the red-armoured man informed her blandly. "However, before that Heiress Gremory wished to make something quite clear to you. I would advise you to pay close attention, or she might get angrier and allow her [Queen] to take up the task of…expressing her displeasure."
"Ufufufufufu." Akeno tittered darkly, eyes narrowed and focused on the blue-haired Fallen, almost begging her to be that stupid.
Rias ignored the byplay and simply stalked forward, picking up the taller woman by the coat and hauling her up to look eye to eye with her, furious sapphire blue glaring into frightened yellow-brown.
"You listen well to me, Fallen." Rias stated coldly. "This shall be your only warning. Blood of one of the Cadre or not, if you so much as set a single toe into my territory again, I will personally reduce you to nothing but ashes. Attempt to harm or stand against one of my Peerage ever again, and especially against Asia Argento, and I promise that you will die screaming in agony. Am. I. Understood?"
"Y-yes…!" Kalawarner managed to whimper out a reply, trembling in terror. It was a small miracle that she hadn't pissed herself in fear by now.
'You couldn't pay me to come back to this Father-accursed country!' the blue-haired Fallen wailed frantically in her mind.
"Glad to see that I am understood. Should you ever need a reminder, I shall be more than happy to provide one." the Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess offered blandly, before pushing her back and letting the busty Fallen land on her ass as she stepped back.
"Wow." Mittelt was honestly impressed. She had never seen anyone put that dumb bimbo in her place so quickly and effectively before. She was also quite glad that it wasn't her on the receiving end of the Gremory Heiress's ire.
"Now that Heiress Gremory has had her say, I think that it is well past time that you three returned home." the mercenary stated, pulling out another talisman from seemingly thin air. "Raynare-san, if you would kindly remember to pass on my messages to Azazel and make sure he is aware that both Kalawarner and Dohnaseek were likely two more of Kokabiel's stooges."
"I will. This bitch has betrayed Lord Azazel; I will personally make sure that she pays for that affront." the black-haired Fallen glowered at her soon-to-be-former subordinate heatedly.
"Very good. Farewell for now, good ladies." the [Gaia Gamer's Gear] holder offered as he flicked the talisman so that it landed on the ground between the three Fallen. In another flare of light, the three female Fallen vanished from Kuō, returned to the Underworld and Azazel's doorstep.
"For now?" Rias questioned, hitching an enquiring eyebrow at the human.
"Something tells me that Kokabiel is not going to let this entire mess end quietly." the red-armoured man responded with a shrug. "He will either loudly and viciously proclaim his innocence in everything and be forced to abandon many of his current schemes while he is under Azazel's scrutiny, or he will double down and begin to openly rebel against Azazel. Given the fact that he's already deeply invested enough to break an abomination like that Sacred Gear Extractor from Azazel's secure storage, I'm willing to place a bet that he'd going to go with the second option."
"That certainly sounds like a path he'd take." Akeno agreed with a scowl on her lips. From all that she could remember of her…father…speaking of him, the Fallen Angel of the Stars was certainly not one to silently slink off, particularly after he'd put some serious investment into a venture.
"If that turns out to be the case, and given Azazel's interest in particularly rare Sacred Gears like my own, there is a good chance that he will inform me of it directly in an attempt to build some good will with me, as well as passing it along to both you and Sona Sitri to make sure your elder siblings will know that he wasn't involved if you two are drawn into whatever plots Kokabiel is brewing. And who would he select to act as a messenger other than one of the two Fallen that Rias Gremory has already met and won't immediately turn into a smear on sight?" the Sacred Gear Holder elaborated. "Given that I've already interfered in at least two, if not three, of the warhawk's plots already, it is highly likely that he is going to try something to get some measure of revenge. I doubt I've done enough to rate his personal attention just yet, but I wouldn't doubt that I might see an assassin or two sent my way in the near-future. And considering that Armârôs the Lesser was my toughest fight to date and someone that I barely managed to pull a win out against, I will need to start grinding like a madman to be prepared for what is to come."
"All true enough. If you are determined to remain as an independent, anyway." Serafall mused absently.
"Eh, for the short term at least, yes." the armoured man shrugged. "Beyond that though, I make no commitments. I definitely want to deal with both the Purifiers and the remaining Ratmen before I allow myself to be changed in any way, though."
"Why exactly? Even if they also seem to be targeting magically-inclined humans, these Purifiers seem to be primarily focused on the various supernatural races." Rias asked, her head tilting slightly in confusion.
"For one, I have a personal axe to grind with them. What almost happened to Hyōdō Issei and his family is not an unknown, or even uncommon, event in this world, after all." the Sacred Gear Holder stated solemnly. "They were the ones who started me on the path I currently walk; it would not feel right to start a new chapter of my story until I have brought this one to its end."
Rias and Akeno both narrowed their eyes at what the first portion of his statement implied. Serafall, for her part, merely offered the boy a small mental round of applause. Those first two statements were completely unrelated, but strung together so closely, they implied that they were linked. Clever boy.
"Anyway, with our business for the day concluded, I believe I should go and start dungeon diving." the mercenary finished with a sigh. "Himejima-san, Gremory-san, Lady Leviathan. I wish you all a pleasant day.
With that, the red-armoured human vanished into the shadows. Serafall could still track his current location down to the last millimetre, but doubtless the two younger Devils with her had lost him almost immediately. Such were the benefits of a long life and a lot of experience.
"Well, that certainly went well." Serafall offered cheerfully.
"I am still having trouble believing he was able to defeat an entire Fallen Flock on his own." Rias offered after a moment, shaking her head slightly. "He admitted that fighting with Armârôs the Lesser on his own pushed him to his absolute limit, and yet his 'dungeon' base was capable of overwhelming four of them."
"That Kalawarner woman was a complete weakling, that Mittelt girl was obviously still young for a Fallen and yet she was easily stronger than her." Akeno pointed out factually, her distaste obvious in her voice. "Kalawarner likely only earned her position as a field operative by spending a lot of time on her knees or back, leeching off of the efforts of others in order to ensure her survival. I wouldn't put Mittelt at more than a century old, and she was of decent strength for a born Fallen of that age. That Raynare woman…she was easily the strongest of them, probably stronger that the both of the other two put together."
"She Fell From Grace." Serafall offered casually.
"Ah, yes that would certainly explain it." the Daughter of Baraqiel nodded in understanding. True Fallen, those that were once True Angels before they Fell, were normally quite a bit stronger than their naturally born counterparts. "I'm afraid I don't know anything about the fourth member, but…"
"Dohna-whatever was apparently an oversexed battle-maniac with an ego problem. He died charging in head-first against a monster that was specifically designed to counter a Fallen's natural abilities while thinking, 'I can take it!'." The Maō Leviathan offered flatly, recalling a bit of the information she'd gotten from the red kid to negotiate with Azazel. "Apparently, his death could be counted as an improvement for the collective IQ of the universe. He was also the oldest of the three 'born' Fallen and easily the strongest of that trio, albeit still a bit below Raynare herself in power."
Rias let out a small, very unladylike snort of laughter. "Ha! So he was basically the Fallen Angel equivalent of Riser, then?"
"You're not wrong…" Sera offered cheerfully. "Aside from the fact that Donner-kebab, or whatever his name actually was, didn't have the Phenex Clan's immortality to keep him alive when he jumped in over his head. Anyway, that mercenary, Mr. Red there? He didn't confront Raynare's Flock directly; instead he let his dungeon-spawned monsters and traps wear them down until he played his trump card. That's why he's run off to get stronger on his own, because he's realized that, outside of his base, he is barely at a level where he can fight a single low-ranked Fallen and survive. That's honestly pretty self-aware of him."
"One of his powers apparently gives him the ability to know exactly how strong he is in comparison to anyone else he encounters." Rias explained, before a thoughtful look crossed her face. "I'm honestly a bit curious just what level of strength his ability showed someone like you at, Serafall-sama."
At That Moment
With Issei, Outside of Manekineko Gaming Systems
S*rF#l/ L$v at?n LV13%&
[Lady of Envy/Maō Leviathan/Super Sis-con]
Holy shit! Just…HOLY SHIT!
Although he was managing to keep outwardly calm as he absently leaned against a wall, Issei was internally freaking out. He'd never seen the [Gamer's Gear] just…bug out like this before. It was as if Serafall Leviathan was so strong that its ability simply couldn't quantify her.
'No…no, that's not it…' Issei realized grimly as [Gamer's Mind] began to flex its might and forcibly calmed his panicked mind back to some semblance of order. 'It's not that Serafall is impossibly strong…it's just that I'm too damned weak to comprehend her level of strength.'
The power of the [Gamer's Gear] directly correlated with Issei's own strength and growth; it could only output power at levels for tasks that Issei was physically, mentally, and/or magically strong enough to handle the strain of, which wasn't all that high at the moment. Honestly, it was kind of amazing that he was able to read as much of Serafall's profile as he could. If he'd tried to use [Observe] on her, he doubted it would have shown anything other than an error screen.
'I've let myself get too focused on setting up and developing my base recently.' the Gamer concluded sourly. 'Because of that, I've let my personal combat ability growth stagnate. It's time I get back to the grind. I need to get stronger; the enemies I face are only going to get stronger from here and I can't just hide in my base forever.'
Hopping through the window he'd broken on his previous visit, Issei made his way back to the office of the moron that had to make a pseudo-natural dungeon entirely on accident, equipped his armour, drew his swords, and offered himself to the grind once more.
Later
Issei let out a sigh of relief as he watched both [Black Waltz #1] and [Sealion] break apart into motes of shimmering light. While their levels had gone up from his last visit, so had his with his successful raid on the Purifier main base, so the fight itself hadn't been any harder than the first time around. As for the rewards, they had improved a bit as well. Last time he'd received a [Lesser Bell of the Blizzard] and [Blizzard] Skill book for beating the Black Waltz, and [Sealion Scale Cuirass] and [Sealion Statuette] from beating the Sealion. This time he'd gotten the [Bell of the Blizzard], [Blizzara] Skill book, and [Sealion Helm].
As he made his way along the path that had manifested when he'd chosen to advance to the next level, he quickly compared the two sets of loot gains. He'd save learning the spells for later (hopefully he'd be earning a number of them today), and the [Sealion Statuette] was merely a collectible item that didn't do anything on its own. But the rest was…interesting.
[Lesser Bell of the Blizzard]
Rare, One Use Only
A bell carved from a single block of crystalline ice infused with magic. While it is merely a pale imitation of the bell that is wielded as a casting tool by the Black Waltz Ruler of the Blizzard, it still holds a small shard of its power. By awakening the spark of magic stored within, chiming the bell for all to hear, one can summon forth a lesser copy of the mighty Sealion that served the Ruler of the Blizzard to fight on the caster's behalf for a single battle. Calling on this power causes the bell to shatter like ice when the beast it summons vanishes, either through combat or when the battle ends and the beast's purpose has been fulfilled.
- Costs 500 MP to activate.
- Summons an [Imitation Sealion] to fight on the caster's behalf.
- [Imitation Sealion] possesses all of the caster's physical stats and has access to the following Attacks: [Wing, [Blizzard, [Blizzara, and [Tsunami]. It also possesses the [Ice Absorption] and the [Earth and Water Immunity] skills.
[Bell of the Blizzard]
Ultra Rare
A mystic bell carefully carved from a block of ancient ice long infused with primal, elemental magic; it was once wielded by the Black Mage Ruler of the Blizzard. Wielding this bell as a casting implement increases the power of any Ice Element spell that the user casts as well as reducing their MP cost. Additionally, one can draw on the icy magic that infuses the bell to cast one of three spells bound to the bell a limited number of times per day each, resetting each night when the moon reaches its zenith. This bell may cast [Blizzard] ten times, [Blizzara] five times, and [Summon Sealion] once per day.
Casting Tool: Wand
Durability: 120/120
- While equipped, increase the effect of all Ice Element Spells by 30%, and reduce the MP cost of Ice Element Spells by 30%.
- Bound Magic: [Blizzard] can be cast ten times a day.
- Bound Magic: [Blizzara] can be cast five times a day.
- Bound Magic: [Summon: Sealion] can be cast once per day.
- The [Sealion] summoned possesses an exact copy of the caster's physical stats, and has access to the following Attacks: [Wing, [Blizzard, [Blizzara, and [Tsunami]. It also possesses the [Ice Absorption] and the [Earth and Water Immunity] skills.
Those two were obviously on an entirely different scale. One was a throwaway item that would allow him to summon up a beat-stick/meatshield if he was even in a tight spot by just burning through a bit of MP. The other was an actual casting tool designed for an ice mage build, with a couple of damage-dealing options built-in and the added bonus of being able to summon up a beat-stick/meatshield once a day. All without even costing a single drop of MP to boot.
[Sealion Cuirass]
Rare
A cuirass, or chestplate, engraved with the image of the mighty ice beast known as the Sealion. Infused with a small amount of the Beast of the Tundra's essence, it grants those who wear it an immunity to all ice element magic while also providing decent protection for a merely rare piece of armour.
Light Armour
Durability: 500/500
- Possesses the [Ice Immunity] Skill. No ice element attack, no matter how powerful, can cause damage to this armour. This trait is passed onto its wearer when the armour is donned.
- Grants 100 Armour to all covered locations.
- Set Item: 1/3: 25% of the damage from all ice element attacks received is converted into HP for the wearer.
[Sealion Helm]
Rare
A Viking-style helmet complete with a facemask engraved with the image of the mighty ice beast known as the Sealion. Infused with a small amount of the Beast of the Tundra's essence, it grants those who wear it an immunity to all ice element magic while also providing decent protection for a merely rare piece of armour.
Light Armour (Helm)
- Possesses the [Ice Immunity] Skill. No ice element attack, no matter how powerful, can cause damage to this armour. This trait is passed onto its wearer when the armour is donned.
- Grants 100 Armour to all covered locations.
- Set Item: 2/3: 60% of the damage all ice element attacks received is converted into HP for the wearer.
The second pair were obviously part of an item set, which in and of itself was actually pretty interesting.
In addition to all of that, Issei had also managed to acquire the last remaining three pieces of the [Black Mage Blueprint] that he needed while making his way through the first floor once more, but had been a bit annoyed that when he combined them, they had only created the [Black Mage Type-A Blueprint], meaning that they would only allow him to craft [Type-A Black Mages] once he fed it to his dungeon.
It made sense in hindsight, of course; the three different types of Black Mages would inevitably be tied to the three Black Waltzes, plus having a single blueprint grant someone access to all three of the Black Mage Types would be a bit lopsided. If anything, Issei was willing to bet that he wouldn't have been able to unlock the more advanced blueprints before he finished with the preceding set.
As the he finally reached a door nearly identical to the entrance to the one leading into the first level of the dungeon, Issei had to grin. It was time to really start the grind.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Next Chapter: The Black Mage Rulers of Flame and Lightning
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII