Chapter 34: Rahvdal's Gift and Price.
(Image here for cuteness. Also, Amaterasu is a virgin goddess. Her 5 sons were sired by Susanoo by chewing her necklace beads. This is probably just me, but 5 sons, and 5 Principle Clans. Connection? Also, a big gift from the big boss.)
While Rahvdall continued to plot the end of the Company, Romonus continued to live. While he was living to enjoy himself he still had a job to do. He did not know what happened to this world as Vali and Issei did not exist really.
It was such a weird thing that he could not understand as he had been planning everything with those two in mind. He did not think his boss would do something like that for shits and giggles. That just left the fact that he was dropped into an alternative reality where this was normal.
Unless there was another plot that he was not getting and it was irking him.
'What does that mean for their Fate? What does my being here change? Would Itsuki have gone to Rias as normal or what? So many unanswered questions and they all pull at my mind.'
Romonus did not consider himself paranoid, but it was hard not to be. While Ophis and Great Red were mostly chill, that left Trihexa which was certainly not. Not to mention the Evie with Regalzeva The Fierce God, Melvazoa The Malevolent God, and Seraselbes The Wicked God.
All beings with the power to effectively one-shot Great Red and wipe out all organic life in their universe. However, he was not one to run from a fight as he most certainly wanted to be the one to defeat the Evie.
As for the Atolde, they were spiritual gods with one of them being the God of Breasts Chimune Chipaoti. He shook his head he was honestly more partial to the Evie in all honesty.
Just as he was going to keep thinking, Itsuki walked up to him and pulled on his sleeve.
"Romonus, you have been staring off into space the whole time."
He shook his head as he focused back on the whole reason he was here.
"My bad, just thinking of the future."
Itsuki looked around at the open wilderness of the Gremory domain.
"So what are we going to do here?"
Romonus smiled as he looked from Akeno to Itsuki.
"I will tell you, I am here to give you a test. I want to see how much you two have learned. As a Noble, I will be expected to compete in the Rating Games and I want each of my Peerage to be One Man armies.
If you cannot fight through scores of people, you aren't training hard enough. If you have trouble getting stronger, give more effort. Talent is just part of the answer as I would not be this strong if not for my sheer dedication to training. Understand?"
Akeno and Itsuki looked at each other before nodding. If Romonus said it was possible, then it must be so. Though, for Akeno she raised a shaky hand. She was still getting used to using her Fallen Angel powers now.
"I thought you said the Bishop is a mage? Can I still become a One Man Army?"
He pointed at her face.
"Akeno, you are the daughter of a powerful Cadre and your mother was a Himejima. The god Ikutsuhikone, the 4th born son of Amaterasu is your Ancestor. Every single one of the principal clans was sired by one of Ameterasu's sons. Meaning you got some god blood in you.
My goal for you is to draw out all the power you can from your bloodlines and build on it. I am doing the same, but I am of course searching for new ways to get stronger. It's all about getting creative as our power runs on Imagination.
As for you Itsuki, you are a Reincarnated Devil so use the most of your Sacred Gear, your Devil powers. Make some techniques or spells you want"
That even was going to apply to Kharn the Badger who was staying with Rias for now. She was trying to teach him to feel magic which was going great. Because of his contract with Romonus, he was feeding off his Demonic Energy and excess soul energy. He would be one crazy creature with proper guidance.
"Now, today, your test. You will be fighting me. I will hold back as I just want to see how good you are, but expect to get hurt as I won't make it easy for you."
Akeno shivered a little.
"Hurt? How bad?"
Romonus smiled in her direction.
"I might break a bone or two, but don't worry. I brewed some Healing Potions. They are not as fast as Phoenix Tears, but they are better than nothing."
Akeno was not looking forward to that, but Itsuki was itching to show off. She raised her left arm as she summoned the Boosted Gear.
"Do we get anything if we land a hit?"
Romonus chuckled as he thought about it.
"Tell you what, land 1 hit on me and I will take you to Disney World."
Instantly that made Itsuki incredibly happy.
"REALLY!"
He nodded.
"Sure, if you land a hit on me that is. Ddraig, what do you think?"
From the Boosted Gear Ddraig spoke up.
[Go easy on her. I rather you not break her.]
Romonus frowned.
"What is with girls getting preferential treatment all the time?"
[They are cuter.]
Itsuki smiled as she heard that.
"Thank you Ddraig."
[You're welcome.]
Romonus shook his head as he backed away.
"Akeno, be ready for your turn."
Aken shook her head and focused on things. She promised to be strong to save her Mother so she could not be weak.
"Yes, sir."
"Good girl."
Akeno smiled at the praise as it meant she was doing well. She just wanted to know that her efforts meant something. Romonus with a thought opened a giant Bounded Field to keep destruction to a minimum. Akeno brought her wings out which were still of a Fallen and Demon. Thanks to his own mutated Bloodline and Soul all his peerage had this effect.
She flew into the sky to get out of the way as Itsuki started to circulate her Demonic Energy through her body.
'Let's do this Ddraig.'
[Right, Boost.]
When her power doubled she felt the power circulate through her body, but Romonus was not playing nice. He rushed at her without using his Touki or Demonic Energy. Just his body alone and he was holding back.
He clenched his fists and threw a punch at her face. In a panic, she raised the Boosted Gear and used it to block. While the Boosted Gear was indestructible, it was attached to her arm.
Instantly all the power of his punch went through her left arm and sent her spinning through the air. It even removed her Boosted State which was part of his lesson.
"See. If you Boosted just 5 times you would be 32 times stronger, but that is if they let you. In a fight, at my level, a second is a very long time. 10 might as well be an eternity. You will be dead before you even get to the second Boost."
Itsuki picked herself up from the ground holding her arm. Tears were in her eyes, but she grit her teeth and wiped them away.
"That hurt, but I get it. What do I do instead?"
Romonus walked over to her and checked her arm out. It was not broken but sprained. He pulled on it a little making her wince, but it didn't hurt anymore. He simply used his own Touki to control her life force to reduce the pain.
"My bad, I thought I held back more. The answer is that you need to get a stronger body and magic. The Boosted Gear is an amplifier for what you are already. You got a good grasp on it and the Pawn Pieces I used to turn you into a Devil.
However, they are just amplifiers, you need to use them to power you. A good analogy at the moment would be that you are a beetle. Even with the Boosted Gear, doubling or quadrupling your power won't mean shit.
You need to be strong enough to fight until you can Boost up. That will be how I will train you, I will not let you Boost up to make it easy for you. You need to endure until then, got it?"
Itsuki nodded.
"Yes."
"Good. Now take 5 minutes."
He then looked up at Akeno in the sky.
"I will fight you with Lightning so show me how well you do."
Akeno nodded as both her hands were coated in white Holy lightning. Romonus channeled his Demonic Energy toward his arms as red lightning began to thunder. While it was not Miria's Demonic Lightning, it was still something she taught him.
Akeno pointed her finger down at Romonus and launched a bolt of Holy Lightning down. Romonus struck back with his own Red Lightning and saw them clash. His of course had more power behind it as he was almost a Satan Class being.
Akeno and Itsuki were Low-Class beings so her lightning broke apart under the power.
"Increase the concentration, add more Light Magic, and if you can try to fuse Demonic Power into it. It lacked power or weight."
She was confused about how to do it.
"How? I can't get them to mix at all."
He shrugged.
"You're the Nephilim Akeno, you have to find your way. I can't give all the answers. Use that brain."
Akeno began to ponder on things. Romonus followed Azazel's instruction and had her circulate her Holy Lightning through her blood. It was increasing the concentration of Fallen Angel blood in her body causing her to grow stronger quickly.
Just then she realized something, Romonus had already given her the answer. She looked at the Red Lightning thundering on his arms with open eyes.
'Of course, Demonic Energy can take any form of magic, but it can still be controlled. I need to mix Holy and Demonic Lightning and use that in my blood.'
"I GOT IT!"
"Good. You have plenty of time and power will come. But you need to always be ready to improve."
Both Itsuki and Akeno were glad that while he was firm he also gave good advice. For the next 4 hours, he continued to train both of them as they needed it. By the end, they were tired and battered as he was not gentle at all.
When they returned to the mansion they took warm baths before falling asleep in their rooms after a big meal. Romonus wanted to get them as strong as possible before they moved to Castle Bael. The servants of House Bael would not be as kind as the ones of the Gremory were, but they had him as a Master.
He would not tolerate them being disrespected by weaklings. He probably respected power more than any other being. He despised those who could become strong but chose to stay weak and respected the strong.
They also would have his Mother to rely on so they were not going to be alone. He shook his head as once they were back, he went back to his training. Until they could match his Level they were going to have to rely on him for a time.
While he was not dreading going to Castle Bael, he wasn't lying when he said he felt like he was going into a den full of Lions. Though, following this analogy, he was the young male that would dethrone the old.
---
The next month was a constant set of changes for all involved. One thing that annoyed Romonus was Itsuki's parents. She was 9 so she couldn't stay away from her parents for too long.
Whenever her 2 week training camp ended and she returned home he left her with a training method his old teacher taught him. He did not want her to slack off and always strive to be better. As for her parents, their old house had been converted into a luxury home of jealousy.
Since their daughter had joined the Peerage of Romous, Zeoticus had made it so they never needed to work again. Even though his son was leaving to rule House Bael, Zeoticus still treasured him.
Romonus also was not abandoning his Gremory Heritage. Once he became a Bael he would give the Gremory Clan good deals. He spoke of all his plans with his Father who was quickly finding the merit in Romonus' choice.
Zeoticus was starting to not just see the value in this but found ways House Gremory could rise in standing more than it already was. If Rias became a powerful head along with her older brother in the Bael, and his son first born as Lucifer, things would work out better than expected.
Zeoticus swore to be one of his biggest political backers as he still had the prestige of siring Sirzechs, and Romonus. However, everyone attributed their power and talent to Venelana, not him.
But no one was going to be telling that to his face. To Romonus, the biggest victory he had was with Itsuki's parents. With a bit of mental manipulation, her parents were more open to listening and agreed to his request to drop her out of school. He did guarantee she would still receive an education, just not the waste of time that was human school.
Meaning she would spend half her time with her parents and half in the Underworld with him. That left him with more time to train her and himself until the day he had to move came. Knowing this Surtr, Souji, and even MacGregor added more days to his training to make sure he was as ready as he could to move to House Bael.
---
By the end of the month, Romonus had made great progress under his three teachers. Ever since he had gotten his Cambion soul, his ability to learn had improved to insane levels.
Everything they taught him he was learning in a manner of hours. Now, the final night he would stay at the Gremory Mansion was here. Movers from The Bael Clan would come to move his entire room.
He had made it apparent that he wanted his room as he had it set up so they were going to move the whole thing. Once he moved he would have to make sure there was no surveillance in his room as he did not want to be spied on.
Regardless, he decided to sleep the night away as he had not slept a wink over the last month. However, as soon as his head touched his pillow he vanished once more. He was back in front of Rahvdall who, but just as he was going to greet the god happily he was left shocked.
Rahvdall someone he saw as unbeatable was missing his right arm and an eye, and his suit was all torn and bloody. He was also leaning a bit off as he had also lost his right leg and a whole heap of more damage.
"Boss? What happened to you?"
Rahvdall chuckled as even for him getting this was not easy as this was something tricky to get. He could have never gotten this through legal means through his company. He was too low-level, but he got it anyway.
"Aren't you going to say thank you? I had to descend into a higher-level world to get this thing for you. Consider it a gift and a major investment. This is what happens when a god like me descends. And stop calling me boss, just call me Rahvdall.
We are on the same side I hope you know that."
Romonus stood up and walked around the desk to look at the damage. He reached out and touched the now empty shoulder. He felt sorrow at the state of the god he respected. This was all for him.
"Why did you do this? I could have gotten by without you needing to get hurt. What can I do to help you? Do you need more chaos? Am I not doing enough?"
The god sighed as no one respected him other than Romonus. Not a single person, god or mortal. Ever since he was a child born to the Goddess of Emotions. He and his several siblings were all born with different emotions as their divinity.
His just happened to be Insanity so he was scorned by all his family. Even when he grew up, no one wanted to worship him. Those that did only saw him as a source of power and nothing more.
His few worshipers were hunted by his siblings leaving him a near-forgotten god. This company was his last line and so was Romonus. But his reincarnator was different.
From time to time he would Rahvdall a prayer. Each time he got one, it was a bit of hope to someone like him who had none. That was why he knew it was worth it. Now, he was going to watch them and this company of gods burns. He grinned as no one knew about his secret dealings.
No one believed the Insane little boy who never would amount to anything would be their end.
"It was not easy to get this for you, but I am sure you will find use of it. It will help you and me on our path."
Rahvdall held his hand out and showed off a glass vial containing a black and red glowing liquid. Romonus instantly felt his Devil bloodline hunger for this. It was instinctive knowing it would make him all that stronger.
"I am sure you know this. You played the game before. It is the blood essence of Dante from Devil May Cry. Descending onto the world hurt more than he did, though I did lose an eye to him in the end."
Romonus looked at the vial with shock.
"You got that personally?"
Rahvdall nodded as he handed the vial off.
"Yes. I had to as I have no one to trust, no one to work for me. You are my last hope. This damage will heal, just survive and grow stronger. Though I could do with a bit more chaos if you don't mind.
Romonus took the vial before placing a hand over his chest.
"Count on me."
Rahvdall smiled proudly.
"I am. Oh, and thank you for the prayers. I almost forgot what that was like."
With a smile, he sent Romonus back before he fell from his chair. He needed time to heal as knowing his siblings they would just be itching to get him while he was weak.
'I know he won't fail.'
When Romonus opened his eyes he looked into his hand and saw he still held the vial. The feeling of hunger was worse now. This was the blood Essence of Dante himself, son of Sparda.
A Demon-Human hybrid, this would go well with his Devil bloodline and Cambion soul. He opened the vial and drank down the entire thing. Things were going to speed up for him now as he had a debt to pay.