Chapter 44: Khaos Brigade (4)
Azrail Astaroth Pov:
[A Small Town In Europe.]
"Gahhh….!!!!"
"Sure enough…" I held the female vampire by her throat, my fingers digging into her flesh and transfusing my blood into her body. "It's no fun if it isn't Lyra…"
As more blood flowed into the vampire's body, her face twisted in pain, and moments later, her body started mutating into a monster.
Her muscles rapidly increased, tearing her skin apart; she grew another pair of arms, her voice became heavier, her height increased, and her face became disgustingly hideous, but before her transformation could be complete, she exploded.
The remains of her body splashed everywhere, bathing her comrades around in her blood, snapping everyone out of their initial shock.
I protected myself with a barrier to not get my clothes dirty.
"Y-You bastard…!"
"Don't you know what you've done?! Our leader was a Pure Blooded Vampire from the Tepes Faction!"
"How dare a devil sneak attack him?!"
"The Tepes Faction won't let you go!"
It looked like the vampires were still hung up on the death of their leader, so much so that they didn't even care about the female vampire who died.
"That's funny…" I tuned towards the second-strongest vampire in the group. "You killed all residents of this town without batting an eye, but it's suddenly wrong that I killed your leader? You don't think only you have the right to kill others, right?"
"Who are—Blegh…!"
The vampire couldn't finish his words because Arondight emerged from the ground and pierced his chest.
Before coming here, I had dipped my sword's blade in the non-diluted Holy Water I found inside Lyra's treasury, and thanks to that, the vampire's body disintegrated within seconds after it pierced his heart.
There was no way a vampire this weak could survive an attack from that.
It wasn't hard to purchase diluted Holy Water used by Nuns and Exorcists, but pure Holy Water was much more scarce, especially after the Biblical God's death during the Great War.
The Four Great Seraphs could produce it because of the Holy System, but the amount wasn't comparable to what it was in the past.
'Until the effects of Holy Water vanish, Arondight is an instant kill weapon for any creatures of darkness below the Ultimate Class…'
And I had already killed the only Ultimate Class Vampire here after weakening him with a sneak attack through [Shadow Movement].
The skill was well suited for assassinations.
"Make sure only to commit crimes that you can get away with in your next life, or you won't be able to bear the consequences. I speak from experience…" I waved my hand, causing Arondight to fly around and kill numerous vampires. "Ah, right… Vampires don't have an afterlife, so forget what I just said…"
I could control Arondight telepathically because of [Weapon Control], a custom spell I copied from Alice some time ago.
It didn't consume much demonic power, but it required a lot of mental focus, which wasn't much of an issue for me.
I excelled in that department, so it didn't take much to attack every vampire individually without even moving.
If anything, Great Sage could use this spell and control thousands of swords without needing me to do anything.
There were over a few hundred vampires in this town, and by the time I arrived, they had already massacred all of the townsfolk.
Following that, I waited for them to find Gleipnir so I could steal it and leave with minimal effort.
However, much to my disappointment, those useless bloodsuckers didn't succeed in their task.
It was a shame that no other vampires were as competent as Elmenhilde or Lyra.
"All done…"
After killing all the vampires, Arondight returned to my shadow, and its presence completely vanished.
Because of the potent Holy Water, the vampires who died disintegrated and left behind no corpses. However, since I already knew everything they did, it wasn't anything noteworthy.
'Let's find some intact corpses and read their memories about this town's history…'
There were thousands of human corpses scattered around the town, but the vampires had destroyed most of them beyond recognition.
I'd need to find an intact corpse for [A Corpse Never Lies].
Maybe I could find some clues about Gleipnir through that?
As I randomly walked through the path dyed red in blood, being extra cautious not to step on the dead bodies and ruin my shoes, a corpse suddenly grabbed my ankle.
'The fuck…?'
I almost yelped in surprise. It had been a while since something startled me.
Because of [Sound Magic], I knew no living person with a heartbeat was around me, and [Gravity Detection] allowed me to sense everything in a decently large radius.
After a few seconds of silence, I turned towards the 'corpse' that grabbed my leg.
The 'corpse' was a little girl around the same age as me, with purple eyes and long, flowing blonde hair tied.
Her mouth slowly opened. "Please… Save me…"
As for why I mistook her for a corpse?
That was because she had no heartbeat or pulse.
'I'm surprised…'
The girl should've died by now, but she forcefully kept herself alive with magic.
Her control was so fine that not even a single drop of magic power or aura leaked from her body. No wonder I didn't notice her, much less the bunch of useless vampires.
That was some considerable talent, but more than that…
'Talk about perseverance. This girl has more will to live than most people these days…'
If it were any other human, they would've long succumbed to the amount of injuries she had.
"I need to…"
The top right side of her head was missing, allowing me to see the insides of her half-destroyed brain.
One of her eye sockets had nothing inside it.
From the injuries on her face and the markings on her throat, I could tell that someone had dug her eyeball out with their fingers while holding her by the neck.
"Meet my..."
Even as the girl spoke, blood poured out of her left shoulder, which had the arm attached to it ripped off with nothing but brute strength.
The left part of her stomach had a hole in it, making her intestines visible from the outside.
The soles of her feet had glass shards buried in them, which probably happened when she was running away from the vampires barefoot.
"Little sister… Please…"
I could sense her magic power disappearing.
The girl would die in about twenty seconds.
'For a child to have this much willpower and talent... How fascinating.'
Not even the best healers in this world could save her unless they knew [Regenration Magic], something unheard of in the current era.
In case they knew it, they'd need to regenerate her brain, skull, and internal organs in a few seconds to keep her alive long enough for further treatment.
If she had met someone else, she would've most likely died today, but…
"Sure. I'll save you."
I was in a good mood after everything that happened with Lyra, so I didn't mind saving this child.
I crouched down with a small smile, bringing my index finger above the girl's mouth before blood started pouring out of it.
As my blood continued to pour into her mouth, her body started to heal rapidly.
Her brain and skull regenerated, her missing arm and hair grew back, her eyeball reappeared, the injuries on her body disappeared, and even her internal organs started to heal.
A hand extended from my shadow and removed the glass shards in her feet, letting them heal, too.
Because of my regeneration, my blood had extremely potent healing capabilities.
Fifty milligrams could regenerate a person's lost limb, a hundred milligrams could heal them from most grievous past injuries, and two hundred milligrams could bring back someone from the brink of death.
The abilities multiplied several times when someone who could naturally digest blood consumed it, like a vampire.
Even a few drops of blood could regenerate a vampire's entire body, as what happened with Lyra.
However, there was a catch. My blood lost its healing properties after twenty seconds of extraction, and it couldn't be stored and used in the same way as Phoenix Tears.
I tried bypassing this restriction with Dimensional Storage, a place where time stopped for things stored inside, but it didn't work.
That raised some rather interesting questions.
My body granted me infinite stamina and vitality to regenerate forever, but where did it get the energy to do so?
It didn't produce so much energy; I ran several tests on myself to confirm that.
Also, why did my immortality lose its effect when some parts disconnected from the body? The genes that allowed for regeneration were still there, so why?
Why did only the first two clones I created have the same immortality as my original body and not the rest?
How did the 'source' of my regeneration decide what to transfer power to? What did it even consider my 'actual' body? Was it the flesh I was born in or the body my soul was inhabiting?
Could my connection with that place be severed? Was the source sentient?
What if I could harness that energy source for magic, too?
There were too many things I didn't know about this immortality of mine.
In the first place, how did Hydra even become immortal? I highly doubted he was born as such.
"Ah…"
Within twenty seconds, all of the girl's injuries healed, and she sat on the ground while looking down at her body, completely dumbfounded.
"Hold on…" I placed my index finger on her forehead as my demonic power surged. "[Clean]."
The blood, dirt, tears, and sweat vanished from her body, and I continued. "[Dress Change]."
Thanks to the injuries, the girl's clothes were torn at various places while being non-existent at others, so under the influence of [Dress Change], a pair of Latia's clothes and sandals appeared on her body.
Their heights were around the same, so those clothes didn't seem out of place on her.
To clear any misunderstandings: No, I don't have Latia's clothes inside my dimensional storage; it'd be weird if I did.
Latia had given me access to one of her dimensional storages a few years ago, so I just linked it to the [Dress Change] spell.
"Thank you…" The girl was in a daze because of the sudden developments, but she still thanked me properly. "Thank you for saving my life, Mr. Devil…"
"It's fine…" Since I had already decided to help her, might as well do it properly. "But aren't you worried about the vampires?"
That question surprised her, and she unknowingly gulped down her saliva before answering in a low voice. "I heard Mr. Devil kill them all…"
'What a strange child…'
Under normal circumstances, the last thing I'd expect a child to do was have a normal conversation while being surrounded by dozens of corpses.
It was apparent she felt both scared and grateful towards me, but she managed to suppress her fear and talk to me.
"There are some questions I'd like to ask…" I got up from the ground before extending my hand towards her. "Both about this town and why the vampires attacked it…"
The girl hesitated, and I sighed. "I know you are scared, but if I wanted to harm you, I wouldn't have saved you in the first place… And what can you even do if I have ill intentions?"
Nodding slightly, she grabbed my hand and pulled herself up.
"Umm… I'll tell you everything I know, but can I meet my sister first, Mr. Devil? She must be terrified all alone…"
I stared at the girl for a second. Never had I ever imagined that being referred to as 'Mr. Devil' would feel so strange.
"I'm Azrail Astaroth. Feel free to call me Azrail; we're about the same age."
"I'm… Lieselotte Sherlock. You can call me Liese…"
.
.
.
Lieselotte's house was in a remote area of the town, and as we walked closer, the number of bodies in our surroundings lowered significantly.
From what she told me, she locked her little sister inside a concealment barrier when the town was attacked and ran outside for the vampires to chase after her.
According to her, this town had a lot of Magicians. However, none were combatants and only used magic to sustain their daily lives.
There was no way for them to fight against such a massive horde of vampires, especially when caught off guard.
"What about your parents?"
"I don't know… We lived with our Uncle and Aunt, but in this incident, they…"
Lieselotte's words trailed off mid-sentence.
We soon arrived at her house.
"Selina?"
There was no reply, and I could hear Lieselotte's heartbeat increasing, but before long—
"Sister? Is that you? Are you alright?"
A loud shout came from the floor above.
Lieselotte ran upstairs without delay.
I walked behind her while looking around the house, making a detour to the kitchen and picking up the bowl of cookies before moving upstairs.
When I arrived inside the room with a mouth full of cookies, the sisters had already reunited, and they turned towards me.
"I can eat these, right? I haven't eaten in over two weeks…"
That wasn't a lie.
My immortal body required no nourishment from the outside, but eating was still fun.
"Ah, yes…" Lieselotte was taken aback, but she nodded regardless. "Please feel free…"
Selina, on the other hand, bowed towards me. "Thank you for saving my sister…"
I nodded in response. "Mmh."
It seemed like Lieselotte and Selina were twins, with the only difference in appearance being their eyes.
While Selina had blue eyes, Lieselotte's were purple.
I looked around the room, and my eyes landed on the several notebooks above the study table.
'What do we have here…'
I placed the cookie bowl on the table and picked one of the notebooks with numerous mathematical problems solved inside.
'The writing looks immature, but the problems are too advanced for a child…' With those thoughts in mind, I asked. "Who solved these problems?"
"It was me…"
Lieselotte pointed at herself with her index finger.
From the side, Selina added. "Sister loves calculating things, so she asked our Uncle for advanced problems because she wanted more difficult challenges…"
"Was it difficult to solve these problems?"
"At first, but they weren't as complicated as Uncle said…"
'This brat…'
I blinked at Lieselotte's words.
An eleven-year-old girl was solving university-level mathematical problems to 'challenge herself.'
My standards for a genius were pretty high because of Latia, but even she would have a headache if presented with these problems.
She could do it with enough dedication and time, but it wasn't something she'd do as a sport.
Not to mention, Latia trained under the Astaroth Clan since birth, while Lieselotte was a human.
'My luck has been far too good for a while now… Becoming immortal without a problem, obtaining Lyra and plundering her wealth, only to run into such a talented individual…'
Everything was so good it made me suspicious instead of happy.
'Great Sage, reanalyse everything up until this point from when we left the fourth laboratory, including the reports in Lyra's dungeon, her memories, abilities, and the connection of our [Soul Corridor]...'
[Already on it, Master.]
Even Great Sage found it suspicious, as she forgot to start her sentence with the word 'Answer.'
[…]
We both suffered from paranoia.
I turned towards Lieselotte with the notebook in my hand. "You like calculating stuff?"
"I do… I want to calculate everything in the world…"
I didn't need [Sound Magic] to tell me she wanted to accomplish that goal from the bottom of her heart. The honest look in her eyes was enough.
'Haah… I haven't met someone who left such a favourable impression on me.'
Mathematics and biology were entirely different.
The first was a way of understanding the patterns and structures underlying reality itself, the key to a much grander cause. The second was the understanding of what we call 'life.'
Their scales varied greatly, and it was hard for me to determine which study held more complexity, especially after learning what kind of 'life' existed in this world.
But one thing was certain.
They both worked towards understanding and finding the reasons behind things that existed.
Someone who wanted to calculate everything in the world; her goal was probably the closest to mine.
She sounded like someone I'd genuinely get along with.
"Hey, Liese… Are you familiar with the Devil Race's Evil Piece System?"
"I've read about it in books..."
"Then, I'll be blunt." Since I had already made up my mind, I decided to be straightforward about it. "How about becoming my [Bishop]?"
Lieselotte had an immense talent for Human Magic because it relied solely on equations and calculations.
If someone like her gained access to our race's demonic power…
'If I train her enough, she might even surpass the likes of Rudiger and MacGregor in magic in some time…'
That'd be interesting to watch.
Rudiger Rosenkreutz was a Reincarnated Devil, the 7th Ranked Player in the Rating Games and the Magic Association, Rosenkreutzer's founder, while MacGregor Mathers was Sirzechs Lucifer's [Bishop].
And most of all, she piqued my interest, so recruiting her was a no-brainer.
Now that I had [Blood Raise], I could turn others into Devils, which made the criteria for selecting peerage members change ever so slightly.
My interest now took the first place.
"I…"
Lieselotte was hesitant, glancing between me and Selina.
"You can bring her along, too. I have no intention of separating you two…" I placed the notebook on the table. "After what happened in this town, you must relocate either way. The Tepes Faction will send more vampires here after not hearing back from their first group in a few days…"
Lieselotte pursed her lips, looking down at the floor.
The town we were in was self-dependent because the residents knew magic, which meant that Lieselotte and Selina had little knowledge about the human world.
They couldn't live here because of the Tepes Faction, and it was only a matter of time before the large number of corpses attracted some magical beasts.
In short, they needed someone's help to survive.
Lieselotte probably understood that, so I continued. "I'm sure the church will also send some executives here after noticing the Tepes Faction's movements. They are sure to take in any survivors. You can think about my offer until then."
It was an open display of goodwill.
Even if she decided to deny my offer, she could hold off on answering until those from church arrive and leave with them.
After a few seconds, Lieselotte nodded. "I'll think about it…"
Her hesitancy was understandable.
Devils weren't the most trustworthy species out there.
Not to mention, becoming a Reincarnated Devil meant accepting eternal servitude or being marked a wanted criminal in case of disobedience.
Either willingly serve your master or be strong enough to live freely as a Stray Devil.
The latter was an option, but it never happened until now because the devil government liked to keep up appearances.
Evil Pieces were the base of our current society, so they had to maintain the system as 'absolute' in front of everyone.
That was why they were hell-bent on hunting down Stray Devils.
As long as the system's 'absolute' authority remained, no one would have the thought of opposing it.
But then again, it didn't matter to me.
I had no intention to treat my subordinates in ways that would make them hate or rebel against me.
[You killed and resurrected Lyra fifty-eight times, Master.]
'Did you say something, Great Sage?'
[…]
How strange. I was sure I heard something.
.
.
.
"By the way, there is something I want to find in this place…"
Lieselotte and Selina turned towards me at that question. "What is it?"
"Are you familiar with Pythagoras?"
Pythagoras was an ancient Ionian Greek philosopher, polymath and the founder of Pythagoreanism, who was born somewhere between 500-600 BC.
That much was what I remembered from the history of my original world.
However, in this world, there was extra lore to Pythagoras, but the only part that mattered was his owning Gleipnir—the grimoire that operated on time and space.
No records had information on how he obtained it or what happened to it after his death. The most commonly accepted theory was that it got destroyed when he died.
Although Merlin Ambrosius created the Magic System used by humans currently, that didn't mean humans before her birth couldn't utilise such powers.
Their number wasn't as much as magicians these days, but they still existed, and some of them far surpassed what magicians today could do.
Pythagoras was one such human.
While other humans in that era received blessings and teachings from Gods or other supernaturals, his powers emerged from an unknown source.
"Pythagoras? You mean the first person to become a Mag—!"
"Hold on…" I raised my hand towards Lieselotte, pausing her. "We have guests…"
Lieselotte and Selina's faces went pale. "More vampires?"
"No… I doubt any vampires know how to tear space and open portals to move around…"
I glanced towards the right wall.
'Seriously, I waited six hours to kill those dumbasses from the Tepes Faction, and someone walks into this place right after?'
And for them to arrive when the conversation was reaching somewhere interesting. It felt like a cliffhanger ending for a novel chapter.
'Not only that, but this disgusting aura…' After a few seconds of pause, I picked up the last cookie inside the bowl before gesturing for Lieselotte and Selina to follow me while exiting the room. "Let's go…"
"But…"
"It's fine. It'll be easier for me to protect you two if you're close by..."
By protect, I meant covering the three of us in my shadow and activating [Shadow Teleportation] in case the guests were too much for my current self to handle.
Finding Gleipnir was important, but I had no intention of risking my life for it.
Recruiting Lieselotte as a [Bishop] would be more than enough to make this trip worthwhile.
.
.
.
The moment I walked out of Lieselotte and Selina's house—
WHOOSH!*
A strong gust of wind emerged when I caught the sword someone threw at me between my index and middle finger.
'A light sword used by exorcists… But it doesn't look like they're related to the church…'
My fingers twisted lightly, causing the light blade to shatter like glass. I was already beyond the level of these swords and guns used by exorcists.
What took my interest in the current situation was—
'That sword…'
I glanced towards the blonde-haired young man in his teens at a distance from us, and my attention focused on the sword hanging on his waist.
As someone who knew about the most famous weapons in this world, there was no way I wouldn't recognise that sword at a glance.
'The Strongest Holy Sword and the weapon used by King Arthur, Caliburn... If I remember correctly, it said to be with the Pendragon Household. Then, this brat is…'
To think I'd run into someone from King Arthur's bloodline.
The little witch flying on a broomstick behind the blonde young man raised her arms towards me.
"[Restrain]."
Three magic circles appeared around me—one on my feet, one on my waist, and one on my shoulders, immobilising my body.
I looked down at the magic circles.
'While the spell formations have some flaws in the equations, they're not bad…'
The girl had prodigious natural talent as a magician, too.
'And these spell formation… Is this witch a part of the Magic Association Golden Dawn?'
I turned back towards the two intruders, and the little witch spoke. "Why did you kill all the humans of this town?"
Her words left me speechless. "What…?"
I saved someone's life for the first time since reincarnation, and moments later, someone was accusing me of mass murder.
'Even I have feelings, sheesh…'
But their conclusion made some sense.
The vampires left no dead bodies behind because of the non-diluted Holy Water, which made me—a devil—the next most likely suspect.
Before I could reply, the last of our intruders also arrived.
'If it were only these two, it would be easy, but dealing with an ability like that might be a bit troublesome…'
A silver-haired young man in his teens flew towards our location, stopping near his two companions.
He then turned towards the Holy Sword Wielder. "If you're opening a portal, at least take me with you…"
"You can fly. What's the problem?"
Ignoring their conversation, I glanced at the eight blue-coloured wings made out of energy sprouting on the silver-haired teenager's back.
Naturally, I recognise those wings.
It was one of the Thirteen Longinus, known as the White Dragon Emperor's Light Wings, because it held the spirit of the Vanishing Dragon, Albion, sealed inside it.
"Divine Dividing…"
The White Dragon Emperor turned towards me, his face showing both interest and caution. "You are strong… Who are you?"
"Haah…"
My lips curled into a small smile.
'The plot of having an overly talented rival for a below-average and ordinary main character…'
It looked like I ran into one of the main characters of DxD and the protagonist's destined rival.
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Words: 4,154
A/N:
Updated Azrail's character sheet with all his current abilities and skills.