(OK, the Plot Hole has been fixed and I think I found two good images of what an adult Romonus would look like. Also, for the harem I still stop having a number goal as that is a slippery slope. If they work, they work. If they don't oh well.)
With every hour that passed, the amount of Mana merging into his body grew. Every part of his skin and muscles were so saturated that something weird was happening. His Demonic Energy was mixing with the Mana in his body to form something new.
This new energy began to flow through his tissues, especially his skin and muscles. His entire muscular system had begun to glow with veins of dark purple energy and so was his skin.
Because for the past hours, all he had been breathing in was liquid mana rather than oxygen his heart was using Mana. Already, the blood in his body had been so energized with Mana that it was positively glowing.
If someone took a blood sample from him right now rather than red healthy blood, they would just see a neon purple liquid. As a result of getting his Oxygenation process replaced with Mananation, it had reached every part of his body.
Every hour, more and more purple glowing veins were appearing all over Romonus' organs, bones, muscles, nerves, and even his cells. This was the perfect fusion of Mana and Demonic Energy and this energy was about to turn him into something new.
This was the benefit of having some human in his DNA. Humans as a species were made to use Mana, while Demons and Devils used Demonic Power. It was called the same thing in DxD and Devil May Cry.
His Cambion Soul and his hybrid body suddenly pulsed as a purple glow enveloped him. Romonus grit his teeth which are also glowing as the pulsing veins in his heart suddenly envelop it.
The energy merged into the tissues of his vital organ and when it started to beat much like a Dragon Heart it began to pulse with power. All over his body, this change started as the pulsing purple veins fused into his tissues one after the other.
His eyes glowed a dark purple as The Baptism Pod shut down. Now that it was no longer actively gathering Mana, over hours, he drank, absorbed, and breathed in the remainder to finish his full transformation.
Once all the Mana was absorbed into his body and fused with his Pure Demonic Energy before being used by his body.
'Finally, air.'
Now that he didn't have to keep breathing in liquid energy he took a deep breath and opened the Pod. He stepped out of it and began to get used to breathing air again after a day and a few hours.
When he did so, he never felt better as his lungs seemed to break down the mana in the air before fusing it with Demonic Energy. He raised his arms and felt that his entire body seemed to have become far tougher than before.
"The tempering and Mana Saturated had the desired outcome. Just my bones alone would be a treasure from the energy flowing through them. This will need to be tested and refined. For starters, construct formation."
He placed a hand on his chest and began forming a brand-new suit from his new energy. When he did so, he could just feel the qualitative difference compared to his old suit.
"That works better than before. My energy is purple now, damn. Am I Shadow Sovereign or something?"
He had so much energy right now that he did not even know if he could sleep anymore. His thoughts ran faster and he could think in multiples now. The Mana had reached all his organs including his brain causing his neurons to be able to run multiple thought threads.
He could see Mana in the air, he could even hear and feel the tiniest sounds or atmospheric changes. His sense of smell was evolved and he didn't even want to know what it did to his flesh.
With every heart beat he felt his blood be energized just like a Dragon Heart.
"Archaon, what do you think?"
'Reporting Armored, this new energy of yours the fusion of Mana and Demonic Energy has the potency of double what it was before. It is more compatible with our souls than raw Demonic Energy.
As long as I have this energy, I should finish our synchronization to be ready for the battle against the Vampires. However, I would like to ask what of the necklace woman? Did she not partake in the Baptism like you did?'
He had forgotten to take off the necklace, but Vespera had told him to not take her off. He reached down and placed a hand on it.
'Vespera, you alive?'
She instantly talked back for the first time since she had entered this necklace.
'Better than ever. This Mithril necklace mana conductivity allowed me to not just heal my soul, but even start gathering some power. I am feeling better than ever.'
Suddenly the bat medallion's eyes started to glow a blood-red. He removed his hand and saw how she began to warp the metal making it look more alive.
"I wanted to ask, why your grandmother?"
Vespera answered without hesitation.
"She tormented me growing up and always abused me. Now, I plan to use her uselessly pretty body to get mine back. You don't mind do you?"
"No, this is your revenge, I am just benefiting from it. Now then, I wonder where the girls went off to. They will all need to share in this gift."
Archaon was not so sure.
'I believe a lower concentration of Liquid Mana would be safer. The only reason you were better prepared was because of your natural regeneration. Without that, you would have melted into liquid.'
"Fine, to the drawing board."
---
If Archaon said it was too dangerous he was going to listen. He was still intending for his entire peerage at least to undergo The Baptism. The kind of Power it offered was far too good to pass up even if they did not get his benefits.
Regardless, The Baptism had been one of his long-term goals to acquire a Body intuned with Mana. He had that now, but he decided to name this transformation the Demonic Mana Body.
He still had to find them so he went to look for them to get used to his new senses. While he did that Demaenetus was currently in his mistress's room.
Despite being a Noble he had no harem as he was a hard man to please. However, his niece Palaestra Bael was unique. Not only was she the mother of Venelana and the grandmother of Romonus, but she was beyond powerful.
She was a tall woman because of her Bael heritage standing 6 foot. Just like her daughter's sinful body full of sensual curves, large hips, and radiating smooth skin. However, the amount of foes she had to beat to death was uncountable.
She had lived through the war with her Uncle and her deceased Father. She wrapped her arms around Demaenetus pressing her breasts onto his back.
"Uncle, what troubles you? Shall I make it better?"
She licked his neck making him jerk.
"You damn succubus, I oughta stuff that mouth of yours."
She winked at him with a grin.
"Kinky."
He chuckled as despite not being born with the Power of Destruction she had compensated for it with incredible magic ability. All the talent of his deceased brother was found in her. It was why she was not married off as despite him being a Bael he had a heart somewhere. It just chooses to pop up every few centuries.
Though remembering how this girl had pushed him down and taken him for a ride.
"I am finally relaxed because it was hard to find a match for our grandson. The issue is that the rest of the family will disapprove greatly. If I am being honest I disapprove just as much."
She tilted her head as she sat in his lap.
"Why will they disapprove and what made it so hard to find a match for him?"
Demaenetus looked at her face with a sigh.
"He has sky-high standards. The Ball is in 5 days and I barely found a suitable girl 20 days ago. However, she is not free of issues because of who her Father is, what her Mother is, and what she is.
The Ancestor wanted a political card in Romonus' harem of pure blood. I wanted the same, for the sake of our kind as Devils, but I know him better. With his strength, he would openly call out The Great King Faction for our ploys.
If he says something like the status of things will change which is what is needed. With his power, it is only a matter of time before he becomes a Super Devil so I found the best match I could."
Palestra smiled as she grabbed Demaenetus by the beard.
"Good, or I would have told Venelana and she would have told him. You can guess what he would have done yes?"
Demaenetus scoffed.
"True. Regardless not only did the suitor need to pass Romonus' screening, but his harem as well. I had to take into consideration Serafall Leviathan, Miria Amducius, Latia Astaroth, and even our daughter Venelana."
Palestra began to laugh as she thought about it.
"It runs in the family Uncle. What do you call what we have?"
Demaenetus answered as he kissed her lips.
"Hot. I at least wanted to pick from a Clan from The Great King Faction, but that left 16 clans to pick from. I spoke at lengths to any Lords who had daughters, granddaughters, nieces, and even younger sisters. Of course, I did a background check on the girls to not have them rejected when they met him.
That would be embarrassing and break some old alliances that we can't have. Sirzechs, the Satans, and Romonus all constantly work together. More will flock to the Satan Faction from the Great King and I can't have that. So I did the best that I could for the Faction."
Palaestra nodded.
"So what is wrong with the girl?"
Demaenetus rubbed his chin as he answered.
"A weird clan, Clan Berith. They rank Duke, but what makes them weird is their Lord. Lord Avivoton Berith. He is an old friend from the war. By old, I mean old. He is 2,345 years old and we fought together for many centuries.
The issue with clan Berith is that they are neither Satan nor Great King Faction."
Palaestra remembered Avivoton a bit from stories of him.
"Clan Berith and their Black Flames. Flames so cold that they burn everything to nothing."
Demaenetus nodded as he remembered those battlefields when Avivoton took to the battlefield. He went in with no guards, just him and he would fill the sky with black fire reducing his foes to atoms.
"I haven't seen Avivoton for over 400 years as he became a recluse after the War. He still ruled as Lord because he was unmarried. He has no harem, and no partner for his entire life. His two brothers died in the War leaving him without heirs."
Palestra pointed at Demaenetus' face.
"Until?"
Demaenetus smirked.
"Until 100 years ago. For whatever reason he took a vacation to Ireland where he ended up meeting someone. Someone who even made his cold heart skip a beat. A Dullahand Noble."
Palaestra was confused.
"Aren't they undead? How did an undead bear a child? From what I know the only undead that can bear offspring are Vampires."
"That is the thing, my love. Dullahan as a species is weird. The weak ones are mindless zombies, but the stronger ones, effectively Nobles are more like Vampires. But you are right that they are technically sterile for the most part."
Palestra was waiting for the answer.
"However, once in a blue moon, a particularly powerful Dullahan couple can use magic to bear a child of their souls which is how their current King came to be. There is a Noble line of them that has connections to Arawan the Celtic God of the Dead.
He grants them his blessings and while Avivoton was in Ireland he ran into one of these Noble Dullahans and they pretty much fell hard for each other. His daughter was born almost by mistake. The girl was born as a Half Devil and Half Noble Dullahand Noble."
That made Palestra realize something.
"Does she have part of Avivoton's soul?"
"I don't know. Dullahans can heal from this ritual, but for a Devil, I am not sure. Her name is-
---
"Silvana"
At the Berith Mansion, Avivioton entered his hybrid daughter's forge room and saw her hard at work. Because of her Noble Dullahan heritage, she wanted to forge the perfect armor and weapon, but nothing was good enough.
He honestly thought that her current scythe was plenty good, but she disagreed. She looked up from the forge which burned with theirBlack Flames. His daughter was tall, 6'3, quite well endowed from her Mother, but her skin was a pale blue.
(Image here)
She had black sclera and golden eyes which was quite similar to Rahvdall. She could detach her head but she kept it on her body with a magic collar. He had never expected for his wife to be one of the few Dullahans who could bear offspring.
When his wife got pregnant he almost did not believe it. His wife though told him that Arawan her god had blessed them. Despite being a god of the Dead, Arawan was a noble god and Avivoton was old with a mighty soul so he let it pass.
He was also rich so any damage to his soul to form his daughter had mostly healed by now.
"Dad, good morning."
Avivoton returned the greeting.
"Morning. Are you making another scythe? Armor?"
Silvana paused as she pulled out the chunk of Mithril from the forge. It was glowing with a dark glow, but she put it back. She turned around to gaze up at her Father.
"Is the engagement still ongoing? I am a Half-Blood of a different Mythology blessed by a foreign god at that so the Great King Faction won't even consider me. They will fight it with all their might. So who in their right mind picked me?"
Avivoton nodded.
"You are right about that. My old friend Demaenetus told me that even he didn't agree. But he said that you were the best candidate for his grandson who would fight against any other girl. You are effectively being chosen to keep the status quo.
Romonus as he is called has the support of the 4 Satans so his word carries weight.
Silvana remembered Romonus.
"Ah, the 12-year-old guy who is already in the Satan Rank right? Heard he had a thing for older women."
She pulled out her phone from between her breasts and began to search through the Devil Media. She ended up finding a recent picture of Romonus posted by Akeno a month ago. It was of him shirtless while he was squatting a 100-ton weight. That was without taking the gravity magic he was using making it so he was essentially lifting 1,000 tons.
Silvana paused before she looked up at her Father.
"He is tough, won't he care about the age difference? Or the fact that this is a scheme."
Avivoton scoffed.
"Serafall is almost 600, Miria is nearing 900, you might as well be his age in Devil's terms. He also is very well aware of any plots his family may have. As for you, you are so sheltered making you almost childish. Just not as much as Serafall so don't mind it. You will meet him in 5 days, there you can accept or deny him. Nothing is set in stone."
He turned around and walked out of her forge room.
"Good luck."
Once he was out, Silvana began to scroll through Akeno's Social Media account. Most of the posts were of Romonus, Shirone, and Itsuki working out. It did not show any of their techniques just physical workouts.
She also saw another post where he was doing handstand pushups with his fingers while lifting the same weight as before. It showed the muscles in his back making her blush and turning her face nearly purple.
'Ok, I might be interested.'
---
The next 5 days for Romonus' delayed Ball began to go by quickly enough. When Romonus was looking for his Peerage and Latia he saw Rias here who told him everything. He was forced to comfort her and chastise her at the same time.
He made her turn her hair back to crimson because it did not suit her. He also had to get on her for her words against their brother. She could hate Marcina and their Father all she wanted, but why a baby? He told her that Asterion knew nothing as he was just 2 months old and taking her anger on him was foolish.
Rias knew he was right and she apologized for saying stuff like that. Romonus didn't mind it as long as she knew it was wrong. Regardless if she was staying with them he decided to pull her along with him and his peerage during his training. Now that she was 12 and more used to it he pulled away the training wheels.
He and Venelana together put her through the wringer and she began to get his Potion Treatment. While he often made his potions taste good, just as a joke he purposely made the ones he gave taste terrible.
Rias started to feel it was unfair when she saw Shirone, Akeno, and Itsuki drinking their Exliers and saying all the good flavors they got. Venelana wanted to chastise Romonus, but she could admit that it was funny.
The biggest thing was that Romonus got a DM from the girl who was supposed to be his new fiance. He did a FaceTime call and saw the girl talking with just her head making him realize that she was part Dullahand.
That was surprising, but he noticed that in the back of the call she was forging something. Finding out that she was also into forging weapons was the most interesting thing.
Before their official meeting, Romonus and Silvana discussed different forging techniques and even some other likes and dislikes. One thing he learned about her was that she was a bit reserved because for her almost 40-year life, she had been a recluse.
Some would call that a Neet, but when he asked why they even considered them a Half Devil not that he had anything against her race. She said that her Father told her that Deamanetus was using her to keep the peace status quo between the two factions.
Either way, Romonus was happy that she was special and enjoyed the time they talked over the phone, but he also had things to do. He left her to her forging while he started to try to synchronize his senses to Archaon.
While they would fight as one, the senses of Archaon would be placed on top of Romonus' own. Thanks to the elemental soup that went into forging him, he had many abilities. Passive Touki and Senjutsu enhancement that stacked on Romonus', Elemental Chaos as a result of the Forge, Flame, and Materials.
With the Dragon Heart that was fused into him, he passively generated Mana which was then converted into Demonic Power for his Armored. That was then converted by Romonus' own 'Demon' Heart so they worked like a Perpetual Motion Device.
There were plenty of more abilities to discover and in the 5 days leading up to the Ball, he worked on increasing his bond with his Archaon The Profane. He did not forget about Itsuki's birthday and let her return to her parents to celebrate. He stopped by to wish her happy birthday and leave her a gift a necklace he made from the metal he had left over.
She loved it, but it was heavy despite how little he used. She still wore it anyway as it had a few enchantments on it. As for Vespera, she was passively feeding off his Demonic Energy gathering her strength to take over her grandmother's body.
All in all, Romonus was prepared for anything and now it was time to meet Silvan in person.
---
On the day of the Ball, Romonus woke up with Shirone as always sleeping on his face. She was glowing a light blue as she constantly used her Senjutsu to give him good dreams and to train.
She might even grow her third tail any day now because of how much of his Demonic Energy she was feeding on. He gently removed her from his face and saw that Akeno and Itsuki were here as well.
He sighed as these girls seemed to take a 1-time thing as an invitation to take over his bed.
'Grow up little girls before I have any interest in you.'
When he got out of bed, he saw that Kharn the Badger was up in his little pet tree. He was snoozing away in a Honey-Induced Coma. He could call Silvana as they had exchanged numbers, but he did not want to be surprised.
Her Mother was going to be dressing her up to dazzle a crowd, but he wondered how the stuck-up Nobles would react to not just a Half Devil, but of a different Mythology.
The Irish Mythology as Dullahan were from Ireland. Learning that Dullahan could create a child from their souls was weird. He asked how her Father was recovering and she said that the ritual was made to cause as little damage as possible.
Otherwise, no one would do it and through his connections and old age, his soul was mighty. Her Mother had lost more rather than her Father, but both were fine now. 40 years was a long time to heal something like that.
He smiled as she was a pretty girl and she liked to forge as well. How could he not like that? She would fit right in with him and Latia after all.
(I would like to get this out of the way because of how often it is brought up, Kharn will not become Uzaki Hitomi from Killing Bites. He isn't a secret female or will become a girl ever. Mr. Kharn is a straight male Honey Badger that hates the world.)