This is the extra chapter for reaching 200 powerstones as promised.
I don't know why but 300 people just dropped the fic over four days. TToTT
I don't think I'll be winning the competition at this rate.
Anyways, enjoy.
One more regular chapter tonight.
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"I see. So even though you are between peak High Class and low Ultimate class in power, the spells let you rise to the level of Ultimate Class temporarily?" My father looked down at the notes I had handed him, and looked around the training courtyard at the remnants of my spar with Ruval, tiny black flames still burning on the shattered stones after my recent demonstration, "These Flames Of Punishment…are a retaliatory move?"
"Yes." I nodded, "They are based on the concept of 'punishment fitting the crime', so unless I am attacked, they are harmless. But once someone attacks me, I can then activate my penance stare and deal them equivalent damage from the flame. The best part is, the flame is absolute in its judgement and can neither be extinguished nor curtailed until the target has served their punishment. It will eat through all defenses and the harder you struggle, the more sin you accumulate, making the flames hit you even harder. It basically allows me to match people in Ultimate Class even without being as strong myself."
"It is a great move, but again, filled with your signature recklessness. What if someone kills you in one move, before you can activate it?" Ruval crossed his arms and my father smiled. Ruval was still thinking in terms of rating games, where death wasn't really death, and you were just ejected from the arena. In the real world, things were different.
"He is a Phenex. How many people do you estimate will even think to kill him in one blow, and of those how many will succeed? He can simply regenerate. This move is perfect for someone with our strengths. Only a Phenex would ever think to use a spell like this. Very creative." My father praised, "Quite an improvement on my own spell."
"You have flames of punishment too?" I was surprised. He had never taught me about them.
"Of course, I do. Do you think you're the first in the history of our clan to come up with improvements for our hellfire?" He laughed, "I tried teaching Ruval when he was younger, but his uniquely sadistic nature made him unsuitable to learning this, something I have had him improve on ever since. When I saw you following in his footsteps, I figured it would be a waste of time to teach you the same. I see now that I was wrong. You have even improved the spell, though it is not without its weaknesses, as Ruval stated. The good thing is, it lets you punch above your weight class, something even my flames of punishment cannot do. They only scale to my level of power, though they do stick to the target in proportion to their sins, until they are fully purged, just like yours."
That concept sounded familiar…wait.
"Dad, flip like five pages over, and check out that concept." I pointed out, and my dad followed, his eyebrows, lifted in pleasant surprise, "Ah, you call them flames of sin? I suppose that is another name for them. But then your flames of punishment should be called flames of judgement, no?"
"Now that you mention it…" I grinned and flipped another few pages over.
"You merged the two spells?" My father looked even more proud, his smile brightening measurably, "The flames of judgement automatically raise your power one level above your opponent and can be used to land preemptive attacks that scale with the level of sins they have committed in their life. This … This is revolutionary, Riser."
"Not yet. It still needs refinement because right now it is purely retaliatory. I will need human sinners to experiment on, but once it is finished, the flames of judgement will scale to peak Ultimate Class in strength even for someone using only peak High Class level of demonic power." I explained, "It will let us fight way out of our league once it is finished."
Like a xianxia protagonist. I chuckled.
"When do you think you will reach ultimate class?" He asked, "And will it scale higher then?"
"Another year or two. And no. While technically, it should scale higher, beings at Satan Class have their own ways to counter it and the mere weight of their metaphysical being, matching that of a lesser deity, is enough to counter it. After all, deities cannot be punished for sin. They are the progenitors of judgement. So conceptually the spell collapses at that level. Unless…"
"Somehow we gain access to Divinity." Ruval completed the sentence.
"Only gods can punish gods." I nodded, "Besides, if I manage to reach Satan Class, my regular hellfire will be potent enough to work on them, so it doesn't make sense to force the spell further. Give me another ten, maybe twelve years, and I'll be there, definitely before my marriage to Rias."
"That is good news regardless." He turned to Ruval, "Ruval, help Riser finish the spell and start learning it yourself. I'll get a copy to Rigal. He has been stuck between High and Ultimate class for over a hundred years. At least this way he'll be able to better protect himself."
"Now about our visit to Urakyot-" He stopped mid-sentence as a purple light flashed and Yubelluna returned with our prize.
My mother walked over to her excitedly, admiring the little boy that had emerged from the teleportation circle.
"Ara ara~ Who is this adorable young man you've brought with you?"
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"He just came with you? After all that?" I asked, incredulous.
"He seems to think I'm some sort of spy." Yubelluna said, shrugging, "He did have demands. Better living conditions for the orphans at the church. Food, beds, clothes. That sort of stuff. And he wants to see his parents again."
"Reasonable." My father nodded, "We were planning to head to Urakyoto today with Sairaorg, we will take him along too. You did well, Yubelluna. You will be rewarded for this. Riser, you will add her to your peerage."
"Sure, but dad, I was thinking, adding her now could stunt her growth a little. Why not wait till she is a little older and stronger. Her strength as a devil will grow better that way." I made an excuse and my father understood.
"That does make sense. Would you mind that, Yubelluna?" He asked.
"No, Lord Phenex. Not at all." She replied, oblivious.
"In the meantime, we will get you admitted to Grauzauberer, to improve your skills. Is that amenable?" My father suggested.
"Of course, Lord Phenex. Thank you." She smiled, delighted at the prospect already.
"Good. Then go talk to your father and ask him to meet us to discuss this tomorrow."
She nodded, almost jumping with joy, and teleported back home.
Adorable. But not for me.
I planned to add her to Ravel's peerage, not mine. Mine must be filled with those who have the greatest potential and a good balance of powers and combos. Unfortunate as it may be, Yubelluna just doesn't cut it.
I looked at Dulio, being spoiled by my mother, his eyes positively twinkling, mesmerized, like a deer eating oats off of your hand, while my mother fed him cookies.
"I'm thinking, Queen."
To ask for something for others before thinking of himself, with that type of kindness and consideration, the guy really was the perfect angel.
Shame that's not in the cards for him this time.
"For a Longinus that powerful, nothing but the Queen Piece will work, so you don't have another choice, unless you want to waste your remaining Pawns?" My father replied, stroking his chin.
"No, Queen Piece it will be." I agreed.
Shame that it couldn't be stalled for awhile though. I'm sure in another year or two, when I reach Ultimate Class, some of my Pawns will turn into Mutation Pieces. I had another in mind for the Queen Piece. But I have no way to explain it to my father how I know about her or why he should offend another prestigious clan for some stupid servant.
Frankly, that is turning into quite the problem, having to justify every action I take with logic because I don't have my own agents to work this stuff unquestioningly. That visit to Kuoh cannot come quicker. As it is, the time to get another Longinus user, Lavinia Reni into my hands is slipping by on the daily.
I can't afford to let that Longinus fall into the hands of that witch bitch. Lavinia is already traumatized because of the Longinus. Adding on the double trouble of foster mommy issues is no bueno. At that point I might as well kill her and rip out the Longinus myself with how much it weakens her. A complete waste of Satan Class potential.
I sighed, and shook my head. Let's worry about that later. For now, its time to get the trump card of heaven on my side.
I walked up to the picnic table set up around the courtyard where we trained and took a seat before him.
"Am I dead?" He asked my mother, his voice shaking, "Am I in hell because I killed all those people?"
"Oh, you poor baby, no." My mother hugged him, pressing his head into her chest and patting his head gently, "We just wanted to meet you because you're a very special boy."
"Because of my powers?" He asked innocently.
"Yes. You have a very special gift. And we didn't want it to fall into the hands of the wrong people. Bad people."
"It doesn't feel special. It feels…cursed. I destroyed everything. Everything I touched…" He sniffled, and my mother kissed him on the forehead.
"Its okay baby. It's not your fault. You didn't know how to control it. It's the fault of those who put that power inside you."
"Who?" He looked up at her and asked, murder in his eyes, flashing coldly, "Who did this to me?"
"Heaven." I answered, "And its not just you either. They do it to a lot of children, just like you."
"There are others like me?" He asked, half hopeful, half distraught that others would have to suffer as he did.
"Yes, lots of them. Some of them even die because their bodies can't control their powers. It's really sad. But what can you do. It's Heaven."
"Are they the bad guys?" He was hesitant. Being raised religious, it was hard for him to see Heaven in a bad light.
"No, not really. They can't really control it anymore. Before God died-"
"God is dead?!" He exclaimed in shock, "But the matron said…"
"They don't know. No one knows because the angels in Heaven have kept it a secret. But we know. And before God died, he made a game, where children all around the world would be born with powers like yours. He wanted to help protect the innocent against evil. But he made a mistake, and now children are born sick and unable to control their powers, and he can't fix it because he's dead and the angels don't know how to." I explained, taking his clenched fists into my hand, "No one is evil here, they just made a mistake." I added, "It's a shame you have to be the one to pay for it though."
Dulio looked down at his clenched fists and let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding, conflicted feelings surging inside him. I could see his brain ticking away.
Should he be angry at Heaven? At God? What could he do about it even if he was? Was he helpless after all? But ultimately, smart as he was, he settled on the more realistic approach.
"Can I learn to control it?" He asked.
I nodded.
"We will help you control it."
"And my parents? Can I really see them again?" He asked, his eyes hopeful now.
"I promise you, not only will you be able to see them, but if you do a good job and train hard, we can even go to Heaven and ask them to give them back to you."
"Why can't we do that now?" He asked.
"Because we are weak. Tell me Dulio, when you prayed for help, how did Heaven answer? When your parents were dying, did Heaven save them? When you were suffering, were the angels by your side?"
His face twisted into a grimace.
"No."
"Heaven and angels aren't evil. They just don't care about you. Because you are weak. No one listens to the weak. No one protects the weak. Only by becoming stronger can you get what you want. If you're strong enough, even Heaven will have to listen to you. That's just the way of the world."
"But it shouldn't be!" Dulio cried, "I tried my best, I prayed every day-"
"They don't care Dulio. They simply don't care. I know you know it too. That's why you stopped praying and started doing what was necessary to protect others yourself, didn't you?"
He nodded amidst sniffles and tears.
"Can you help me become stronger?"
My mother nuzzled her face into his head and consoled him.
"Yes. We will take good care of you." She turned to my father, "Husband, we are adopting him."
"Wha-" My father looked at her confused.
"We are adopting him." My mother gave him no alternative, "He even has blond hair, just like us." She kissed his cheek.
"Will you be part of our family, Dulio?" She asked and he looked around for a moment, blushing slightly.
"If…you will have me…" He replied, softly.
"Then it's settled." She huffed, extending a hand, "Riser, your Queen Piece."
I summoned the Evil Piece and handed it to her.
She held it against his chest and pushed it into him. A brilliant flash of magic erupted from beneath him and a large, nine layered magic circle span around him zooming up from the ground till the top of his head changing him permanently and as the light settled, he floated down almost to the ground, only to stop mere inches above it, his wings swung out fully.
He looked back at them curiously and then at my smiling mother.
"Welcome to the family." My mother said with a clap, "Welcome home."
"I'm…home." He smiled and dove into her arms.
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Tell me what you think of the chapter. Who do you think was slated to be the queen before riser had to pick Dulio. Take a guess.
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Review chapter for maoudiablo and grecoslovitzo will be posted tomorrow i guess. Then I will have fulfilled all promises of extra chapter. after that if we don't reach those goals, 1 chapter a day it will be.
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