Omake - Devil Binding
Looking through the family trees of ancient and noble Devil houses, Sorin could not help but ask a rather important question.
By Leviathan's firm, inviting buttocks, why are there so many women named Lilith?
True, Lilith, together with Lucifer were the creators of the Devil race. She literally designed their entire species for Lucifer, using knowledge stolen from the Biblical God no less, to make Devils inherently superior to his precious little Angels. Sorin could understand the desire to look up to your literal creator and designer like that. The same probably did not happen with men being named Lucifer, because even now, Lucifer was a title, and to be named as such was to declare your belief that your child was the rightful ruler of Hell. People who did not want to get brutally murdered simply did not name their children that. Lilith on the other hand, appeared to be a fair game.
Unfortunately, many historical records had a tendency to refer to Devils by their first name, omitting titles or family names. Those that referred to them entirely by family names weren't much more helpful in identifying the exact Devil that they belonged to either. If you were 'lucky', the Devil's full name might be used once in a text nearly a hundred pages long. Often times, the writer would try to be 'artistic' or 'mysterious' - euphemisms for talentless hack in the same way that eccentric was a euphemism for rich and crazy – and not identify the exact Devil that they were discussing until the middle or near the end of their treatise. Other times, they might forget, or reference another work that was preserved in some great magical library that got nuked during the Civil War.
It would have given Sorin a new appreciation for the difficulty of the work of historians, if it weren't the Devil equivalent of historians and biographical scholars who were giving him these problems. As such, he could not help but take a dark joy in the knowledge that they had to suffer what he was going through regularly, instead of only having to deal with it for a week or two as he was.
That dark joy was helped largely by the fact that he was finally done with his search.
Lady Aurya Zagan was a Devil of the Zagan clan who lived a few centuries back. She had been a pragmatic and talented Devil, putting what she saw as reality over her pride. In practice, she had believed that the natural state of Devil kind was that the strong ruled, and the weak existed at their whim. Unlike most who claimed such a philosophy, she had not believed herself to be an exception to being subject to the whims of those stronger than her. These beliefs, combined with her misconception about the strength of the descendants of the Old Satans – or perhaps more accurately, the ability of other Devils to reach and surpass that level – had resulted in her fighting for the losing side. And dying when Levi-tan came by and turned her family's entire mansion into an ice sculpture with a single spell.
Overall, she met the major points of what Sorin had been looking for.
First was a Devil who was pragmatic enough to obey him. As he was in search of a minion, this first point was absolutely mandatory to get anywhere.
Second was a Devil from an extinct noble house. The potential to bring back extinct houses was quite valuable. Pillar Families basically got privileged treatment because of the theoretical war potential of their bloodlines, combined with their raw level of innate talents. When people talked about the Devil race becoming weaker after the Civil War, they didn't really mean how badly the civilian population got massacred, but how many Pillar Families – and the unique, strategic scale abilities that they represented – that they had lost. Once Sorin revealed the option of simply bringing those traits back, he could milk that for quite a bit. He would have to hold back on that for the moment for fear of Heaven and the Grigori's response to such.
Third was that the Devil would have to be from the 'wrong' side. Enslaving those who fought on your own side and were your allies, would be frowned upon in modern Devil society. The Satans were trying to cutback on the backstabbing and stupid evil, so combining the two in such an open manner would be liable to have a Satan sit him down for a 'friendly lecture' and make him let the slave go. The only reason the consequence would be so minor would be because of Sorin's young age. That said, enslaving someone who fought for the Old Satan Faction, and would have 0 current or historical allies in the entire ruling political spectrum but plenty of enemies? Yeah, no one would launch a complaint about that.
Lady Aurya Zagan fit all of those points. Or at least, Sorin thought that she did. Point number one was always hard to evaluate even after talking to someone, let alone before doing so.
Still, I might as well get started.
The room that he went to was what was called the Necromantic Summoning Room. Not that they had done any summonings – necromantic or otherwise – in the room so far. It had just recently been completed. It contained several wards that Azi Dahaka had helped design, to limit and restrain the powers of Ghosts, Reapers, Vampires, Liches, and Undead in general. There were other wards as well, that could be activated with a single word – or would do so if anyone in the room took sufficient damage – that would release anti-Undead waves of energies. Basically, the idea was to perform the summoning of the dead in a room specifically designed for the containment and murder of those being called up in case they got uppity.
Next to Sorin stood a one of his clones, piloted by Azi Dahaka for extra magical back up. The original Sorin wore white and red, while Azi Sorin wore black and red. Aside from the switch from white to black, their suits were exact copies of each other, making the two look like a set of twins, with Azi Sorin trying to be the dark and edgy one. They also both had their aura gathering, readying themselves for magical combat. After all, it was better safe than dealing with the embarrassment of getting killed by a ghost.
Also in the room were Kuroka, Shirone, and Leanna. The last was more as an observer, and so that she could see what the process looked like and how it worked for future reference. At the moment, Sorin did not expect her to be able to contribute in anti-ghost combat. Kuroka and Shirone both had skills in Senjutsu, and were Nekoshou to boot. They had purification techniques that would let them easily slaughter an army of ghosts and the like. Roygun was there too, mostly as an observer, and in case her advice might be needed. Largely, it was for her personal curiosity though.
The Gogmagog was there, now fully healed and functional. As it turned out, 'murdering incorporeal beings' was one of the functions that had been restored to it. Yeah, apparently Gods did not fuck around when making autonomous weapons to throw at each other. It was also currently scanning the room, looking for any threats that might pop up. Most importantly though, Sorin was able to tap into its senses, and see through them to get an extra – and different – view of the room, kind of like an overhead view with a video game HUD.
Rounding out the crew was Valerie Tepes, the resident Dhampir, and the girl who made what Sorin was trying to accomplish possible. She was wearing a Japanese shrine maiden outfit, because she had made Gasper wear one, and after seeing how cute he looked in it, had gotten jealous and wanted one for herself as well. She was also quietly humming to herself while waiting for the all-clear signal to start the summoning.
"Everything looks fine. I can't sense anything." Kuroka asserted first.
"Nothing outside of ourselves is here." Azi Dahaka asserted.
"Looks like it." Sorin was the last, checking both his own senses – not that he could spot anything the other two couldn't – as well as the Gomagog's. "Let's get started."
"Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill.
Repeat five times,
But destroy each when filled.
Let blood be the essence
Let stone and the archduke of
destruction be the foundation
Let my Master Sorin's will be mine
Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall
Let the four cardinal gates close
Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate
I hereby declare
Your soul shall serve under me
My desire shall be your sword
Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail
Refusal is not permitted, answer this summoning
An oath shall be sworn here
I shall taste all the blood of Heaven
I shall taste all the blood of Hell
From the True Underworld,
Attended to by three great words of power,
Come forth from the cycle of death,
My master's newest slave!"
Honestly, the chant was unnecessary. There was literally nothing in the Grail's functions that required a chant, or even became simpler by using one. There most definitely wasn't a specific chant to use. However, Valerie had found that saying a chant like this helped her focus and get into the correct emotional state. Given that Sorin preferred to have her use the Grail out of combat, in a controlled environment where time was most definitely not of the essence, that was a good enough reason for him to give her free reign with using chants for summoning spirits using the Grail. Just so long as she didn't start organizing a Ghost Death-a-thon.
The soul that was summoned was a skinny woman with a modest chest. She had a friendly smile on her face, unbecoming of a Devil; or perhaps becoming of one given their reputation for manipulation. She had blue eyes that twinkled with mirth even in this situation, and long, beautiful, blonde hair that reached to her knees. She looked around the room for a moment, before falling to a knee before Valerie, head lowered.
"I ask of thee. Are you my master?"
Valerie cocked her head. "Sort of? I summoned you, but Sorin is my master, and he asked me to summon you. Does that make him your master? Or your master's master?"
"Hello." Sorin waved cheerfully at the naked spirit woman. "I am Sorin Bael, and Princess Valerie Tepes summoned you at my request so that you could join my services."
A hint of a frown appeared on the woman's face before it smoothed out. "Lord Bael, from the Rebels? Are you a survivor of the war?"
Sorin shook his head. "No, Zerophimus Bael is still Lord Bael. He is my father, and we kinda won the war. Someone had the stupid idea of killing one of Sirzechs Gremory's students, making him enter the war on the rebel side, at which point Ajuka Astaroth joined him. No one on the Old Satan Faction was a match for them. Rizevim Lucifer might have been, but he didn't care enough to get involved. Basically, you joined the weaker side and died. That was a few centuries ago, and now we are rebuilding our strength in various ways."
"That is a little hard to believe," Aurya replied with a shake of her head. "The original Satans were the four strongest Devils. Their progeny would be born with an equally abnormal amount of talent because of that. I have trouble believing that they would simply lose."
Sorin sighed. Perhaps a demonstration would be better, but he wasn't certain how to demonstrate the situation without giving her a tour. "So I suppose that you aren't interested?"
"No, I accept." She disagreed again. "While I do not believe in the situation as you described it, you have me completely at your mercy. It is therefore within your right to do to me as you will, even force me into your service."
Sorin raised an eyebrow at that. "You aren't going to ask the terms of the service first?"
"Are they terms that I can refuse?" She asked simply. "While I do not comprehend the spells woven into here, I can feel their nature. Even without the Grail, if you were powerless humans, I would still be at your complete mercy. No matter the terms you offer, I have no choice but to accept." She smiled at that, and stood up to give him a bow. "Well done, my lord. Few in my time were able to collar a Lady of a Pillar Family so thoroughly on their first meeting."
Well, I picked her specifically because she was liable to easily agree to my conditions.
"Very well. I'm not sure how much of a student you were of history, but this is a Gogmagog, a weapon used by the ancient Gods in Great Britain to wage war on other Gods around Northern Europe. It has a binding of absolute loyalty, and pretty decent physical capabilities, but lacks a Devil level intellect to control it. I would like you to possess it. We will naturally alter it so that you can take on your normal form, and use your Devil capabilities while possessing it."
She cocked her head to the side. "You intend to give me a body with anti-God Class capabilities, and completely bind my free will to your whims at the same time? Oh, young master. I can not tell if you are rewarding or punishing me." Suddenly her face went neutral, and her tone turned professional. "So how is this done? Is there a contract that we must sign?"
"The contract is already woven into the Gogmagog." Sorin replied instantly. "Simply do not resist Valerie transferring your soul into it, and the rest will be done."
"And if I resist?" She asked with a tone of curiosity. "The fact that you asked at all makes me think that is a possibility."
"Then you will fail." Sorin said simply, pointing at the room. "Even if normally your soul would be powerful enough to resist the Grail – which is unlikely unless you are a Goddess of Death – this room would make you lose. However, the contract can not form while you are resisting, so instead the inbuilt safeties would kick in. And they would grind away at your soul until you gave up the resistance, or the part of you that resisted was gone. Basically, the lessened version of you would end up in control of the Gogmagog, which I prefer to avoid, hence this conversation."
Aurya stared. "So, I either agree, or I start losing pieces of my entire existence until I agree?"
Sorin nodded. "In the modern world, it is called a deal you can't refuse."
Aurya laughed. "You remind me of what I read about Lord Rizevim in his youth, young master. Very well, I accept. I, Lady Aurya Zagan pledge myself to you and your cause, whatever it may be."
The following transfer ritual did not take long. Valerie simply took the soul – Sorin and Azi Dahaka helping with the mental burden – and transferred Aurya's soul into the golem. The contract woven into it took care of the rest as Sorin had said, ensuring that the transfer was entirely without incident. Aurya's soul was bound, her will shackled to Sorin's whims. In exchange, she gained a powerful body and the promise of soon being able to enjoy the advantages of a flesh and blood lifestyle once again.
As for the Magical Beast used to run the burdens of the Grail's calculations, they were erased from existence using the Power of Destruction, and a new one put in their place.
<<