2 Ch. 2 Home Away from Home
Reaching the mountains safely was a lot more informative than I initially would have thought.
Not because I opened the information package I requested, no. I believed that contained too much information in one go to assimilate out in the open. But because of the various flora and fauna I could notice either are either exclusive to the Underworld or similar magical areas, or that had gone extinct in the human world and had actually existed before.
Various glowing or moving plants, giant trees or mushrooms, vegetation which seemed to have offensive reflexes like the Venus flytrap if not near sentience and I'm almost certain I saw water spirits in the large river I had followed to the mountains in order to have a water source near my home.
I was also introduced to a multitude of creatures and beasts one could only find in anime, fantasy books, table top games or video games. Large rock Serpents seemingly swimming through the earth like a nicer looking baby Onyx, very fast bipedal rabbits capable of using wind magic, Large fire clad boars, some rather aggressive flocks of illusion casting singing birds and even what I could only guess was an earth dragon due to its similarities to a crocodile if not for it draconian head.
Truly fascinating.
It was disappointing to think I wouldn't be able to study this new ecosystem I found myself in as a scientist and would have to do so as a hunter and possibly prey should I become careless.
No use getting ahead of myself however.
Now that I have a sample of the flora and fauna, as well as a known water, I could begin looking for a concealed area. This was much easier with my new spatial awareness since it could feel for any sort of opening this place might hide.
That's why it took roughly 20 min to find an acceptable spot and then check if anything had already called dibs on it.
No one wants to set up shop and find an angry predator being your painful alarm clock the next morning after all.
But I was lucky enough to not feel any trace of this shallow cave being inhabited by anything.
Now all that left was to set up my place and hopefully get a head start on getting my feet under me in this world.
Activating the perk itself wasn't difficult, it was basically the same type of interface I had used to set up this new life but it would only appear once I was ready to use said perk. The talent, ability to house a second sacred gear and the Sacred gear self-damage immunity comes pre-installed, but I haven't actually gotten or awakened Alphecca Tyrant, received information regarding the underworld or Incinerate Anthem, nor gotten my home/training ground.
So accepting the perk, I received what looked like a large glass orb within a glass orb, which contains a miniaturized cabin with various natural terrains surrounding it, on top of a much larger stone building, which I assumed was the training ground.
Nice that this comes with instructions.
'Ideal home away from home for training maniacs. Made by Evangeline A.K McDowell.
How to use it:
-Step 1: Have one drop of blood absorbed to key you in as the owner.
-Step 2: Speak the key phrase to enter your new home away from home when requested.
-Step 3: Place our wonderful product on a stable surface.
-Step 4: Say your key phrase and enjoy your new home and training ground.
Features:
-One warm and cozy cabin perfect for a small family. Fully equipped with modern appliances and power completely by ambiant mana. It also has a nice fireplace which doesn't require wood to be added.
-Self stocking food and drinks limited to production settings. Unlimited wine however. Made using automated system in place for production, picking, processing and stocking.
-One beach. Even training maniacs need to relax for maximum efficiency.
-Near indestructible training facilities with enchanted training dummies, automated magic casters, enchanted gym, Top of the line shooting range, Testing ground and armories.
-Undetectable through anything beyond basic human senses.
-0% energy leakage.
Warning: Due to this being a prototype, no time dilation has been installed. Food supply limited to the natural Fruits and Vegetables grown within the Home away from home, if users wish for meat please acquire yourselves. Do not use more than a large lake's worth of water within a month. Home away from home is not indestructible and may be damaged from the outside, while damaging it from the inside is much more difficult. Any damage done can only be repaired by the owner due to the creator being in another universe. No refunds or exchanges.'
(Basically an altered Evangeline's Resort from Negima.)
'Just wow.' Was the only thought I had in mind. 'That Golden guy really doesn't do things by halves.'
I looked around and found a perfect spot to hide the H.A.H as I will acronymize the home away from home. The spot was just of to the right of the entrance, where the cave wall waved enough to let me place the H.A.H and still be hidden.
Then came the annoying part of dripping blood on the thing without any sort of sharp object.
'Well, I'm not going to punch the cave walls for this so I guess Naruto style it is.' I thought as I used my teeth to bite through the underside of my thumb and place it over the H.A.H.
It took my blood with a small light were it dripped and a small window popped up as I was watching the bleeding stop remarkably quick compared to when I was human.
'Please input key phrase through vocalisation.'
"Where it begins." I determinedly say but become a bit shocked at how young my voice sound.
And then I realized I hadn't actually paid any attention to it due to not feeling any sort of discomfort beyond my body jumpstarting and other things distracting me, but my body feels a lot smaller than I expected.
'So either I'm not fully matured or I'm somehow stuck being a semi-shota. I really hope it's not the second one.' I thought as the H.A.H accepted my key phrase and teleported me inside of itself.
A moment later I reappeared on a platform with a large and intricate magical circle on it.
Looking around, I could honestly say that this was simply impressive and that I really want to reach this point later on when I began properly learning magic in the future.
Beautiful blue sky with drifting clouds, a spotless beach with clear blue water down below, the one story log cabin waiting up ahead with a little fire pit, a nice porch and all with lush lawn covering the huge building it stood on top of.
In the distance I could see some mountains, an area with a severe blizzard, a desert, a swamp and even a very small city like area.
'Going by the 'training maniac' from the full name of this place, I'm guessing those are training biomes to see how one fares in varied and disadvantageous terrains.' I thought as I moved forward to the cabin.
Entering the place made me really appreciate the modern but cozy cabin feel of the place. My leather sofas, stone fire place, kitchen as advertised and 1 fruit, veggie and juice filled fridge after checking it out.
'Like it said, no meat. But it seems like there are some dairy products, only it is nut based apparently.
And let's see here… spices check, pasta check, bread check, all natural condiments check… so in short I have everything I need to live vegan pretty much. As long as it can be made from plants the automated system can make it.
I'll need to experiment or get good enough to hunt quickly. Or if everything goes to plan I'll be able to begin getting a cash-flow and buy whatever I need.' I thought as multiple options ran through my mind.
I wasn't certain devils truly needed to eat in the first place.
I knew they… we are associated with sins, hence related to Gluttony, but does that mean we need to eat or just sinfully indulge in excess?
The same sort of question applies for sleep in general. We can represent the Sin of Sloth, but do we NEED to sleep. I know if we run out completely of demonic power then yes we can pass out and reincarnated devils probably do it out of psychological habit or for mental health as their minds, bodies and souls truly embrace what it means to be a devil. Human minds aren't built to have a lifespan of 10'000 years nor to be nocturnal after all. But do we truly need sleep?
Maybe if one is closer to a certain sin than others then that devil might feel a need to eat, sleep, fuck or whatever else. I mean, Falbium had to have a reason for basically being an OP version of Skikamaru Nara.
Thoughts for later.
Now that i know I have a secure home and stable food supply, it's time to understand what I'm working with and to obtain my first Longinus.
So I went to the bathroom since it's pretty much guaranteed to have a mirror and I need a shower.
I might not have mentioned it, but how clean do you think someone is when they wake of on a battle field full of dead bodies?
Yeah, not the most hygienic.
Now for a good and bad bit: I only have the very basic black pants, shirt and boots I woke up in, but at least there's a washing machine.
Guess I'll go over the battlefield afterwards to scavenge some things.
For now I'll at least train shirtless. It'll reduce the amount of damaged or used clothing.
-one nice shower later.
"Thank you Evangeline and Golden for the fully stocked bathroom." I said emotionally.
I had honestly overlooked how pampered being living on the 21st century had made everyone. But on second thought, Magic was a thing, and no doubt Magic potions as well, so some form of cleaning products had to be sold in underworld, a place full of arrogent 'young' masters and rich self important assholes.
Putting aside my self-assurance that I wasn't a total pansy, I finally got a good look of myself and I am quite pleased.
Wavy plume hair reaching a bit beyond my shoulders, smooth light brown skin, nice cheekbones, perfect teeth, noble features, and the most dazzling green eyes I've ever seen. I look cute at the moment, but at least I can see the signs of maturing on my face which will hopefully turn into handsome later.
My body on the other hand isn't anything really impressive. No obvious muscle mass nor definition, soft hands and unblemished skin. My height is pretty good for for my estimated physical age of 12-13 however, standing at 5'6. And finally, as is tradition, my little buddy's future looks very promising indeed.
And now, since I had nothing to do until my clothes were done washing and no one else was here, I decided to tour the place.
Going from the top down:
The first floor was impressive to say the least. The exercise equipment and machines had been enchanted to train superhuman individuals, reaching absurd weight limits by using resistance enchantments instead of gravity ones. There were weighted bracelets available once one learns a light-walking Magic which comes with the warnings, so you could essentially train like Rock Lee. A few cardio oriented setups, a pool, some actual rock climbing which actually changes and uses gravity magic to make life harder and even an honest to god 'ugh' gravity chamber.
'Going to have to be careful with my inner monologue now that I'm a devil. Can't say His name.' I noted since I was still using my human mentality.
Anyway, the second floor was the target practice room. This one had an armory for pretty much any ranged weapon you can think of and had training programs ready for all of them at varying levels of intensity. It was mostly a large stone chamber which can be altered to form various terrains and conditions, as well as increase its size once sealed up. It wasn't just shooting targets either, a lot of the so called targets could shoot back various projectiles and some forms of magic. Perfect to train a combat effective ranged fighter and making them ready for counterattacks.
Third floor was for up close and personal training. This one had various mechanized golems programmed for different types of fighters like strength oriented ones and skill based opponents. They were remarkably tougher than the one from the previous floor. The place also offered bracelets to limit any extra powers in the body of one wants to truly train purely the physical body and skills. Unfortunately I can't take them out since they can only exist here. It was divided into multiple types of martial learning establishments like Dojos, Ancient Greak gymnasiums, Buddhist temple and even just an empty field, with each having their own armory.
And the fourth floor was basically the sparring area. Aesthetically resembling a colosseum without nearly nearly as many seats, the information regarding this floor said that it was the most durable place in the entire H.A.H. It was also the simplest one since it was designed simply to allow opponents to test each other in straightforward combat, whether it was one-on-one or group battles.
Bellow that was actually a relaxation/ground floor which leads out to the beach. It had medicinal baths, massage chairs, jacuzzis, many things I couldn't name simply because I had never researched spas before.
Going back to the fourth floor, I decided it was time to activate my first sacred gear.
'Alphecca Tyrant awakened -> Balance Breaker initiated. Please use your desires to guide the result.'
Then I could suddenly feel it as I lost control of everything. My body, my new demonic power and my emotions. Everything was going wild as I could feel chains shattering in my soul itself, hailing the appearance of the Iron Crown of Lombardy.
But I knew that wasn't what Alphecca Tyrant should be. It should be the nails which held Christ to the cross. The things which bound Jesus himself. Just like he decided to die for the sins of man, I too had decided to take on the evils so that they may have a future. Sure our goals were very different, mine was for the salvation of the planet and its inhabitant while his was to save the souls of man, but the end was the same. We sacrificed ourselves for hope in a better future.
'But now it was the time for a more proactive approach.
No longer will I be bound.
No longer will I be the martyr.
I shall break the bonds holding me.
I shall take control of my fate and that of others.
I shall take on the evils of the world and be that which pushes good forward.'
"Balance Breaker: Sanctus filius a servitute liberatur!" I cried out as I felt my Will change the form of my Longinus.
It entered back into my body, covering my hands and feat with the semi liquid form of the nails which crucified Christ, while also creating temporary holes where the nails would have been.
Although simple in form, like most of what the objects which ended Jesus' life, the abilities of the balance breaker were anything but.
Alphecca Tyrant, in its base form, could create and manipulate holy nails of various shapes and sizes, going so far as to being able to mimic Kiba's Sword birth by sprouting them from surrounding surfaces. It could also brainwash humans, even sacred gear and Longinus wielders, to do the users bidding, although one had to have had the target listen the user for a few minutes while inserting some key words. And finally it could alter perceptions and concepts on those struck by the nails.
Now the balance breaker has boosted these abilities while adding another:
The nails became akin to the duality of freedom and bondage by gaining the ability to seal anything and freeing everything, even if it was conceptual, while maintaining the original ability to create them from any surface.
The brainwashing was also significantly improved to no longer need a conversation or key words, now requiring only a touch on bare skin and look in the eyes to be able to telepathically begin to command other, even if new commands can only be given when the target is either in sight of the user or being touched by him. All while no longer being limited to humanity and being able to affect any race affected by sins, making the only official race immune to this the angels, but they can still fall due to the negative impact an object used to kill Christ has on believers.
And finally the user becomes unbound, gaining a significant boost in all combat abilities and becoming impossible to bind, seal, debuff, poison, pressure, suppress or curse in any way. The metal covering becomes unbreakable in nature and the holes capable of accepting attacks.
'Truly Balance Breakers are bugs in the system, especially for Longinus users.' I thought excitedly as my desires brought to into this world such a ridiculous power.
'Still can't take on a Satan-class being, but using this I can most likely kill the majority of ultimate-class beings and even ultimate-class devils from pillar families. Will probably be more difficult against Angels and Fallens, but at least I can defend against their holy and light attacks now.' I thought as the power high was starting to fade.
"Too bad I'm not going to be showing you off any time soon, but I'll be training you a lot so I can perfectly use you." I muttered aloud since I knew I couldn't show off my Longinus during the war.
It would simply way too risky.
Devils from noble families will already hate me for being a hybrid, but showing up with a holy Longinus like Alphecca Tyrant would mark me for death by pretty much everyone with some power. Not even mentioning when Heaven and Grigori hear about it, no way they're letting me walk around with such a dangerous and important Sacred Gear. Then it could also attract the attention of Hades, which I'm not keen on letting him know about my existence any time soon.
'Yeah, keeping you my little secret.' I thought as my Balance Breaker stopped and I returned to normal.
Very tired, but normal.
And naked.
Something I fixed by fetching the towel that my awakening blew away, then heading back to the home.
'My clothes should be done washing soon. I'll eat afterwards and then accept the information package regarding the Underworld in bed. That way if I pass out, like some characters from stories do when information is suddenly crammed into their heads, I won't be slamming into anything and just lay on the floor. Then tomorrow I'll go over that battlefield to find anything useful.' I thought as i laid down my plans.
Training would come afterwards due to the time sensitive nature of looting. Beasts could come and destroy what would have been useful or others my have the same idea.
-The next day
"Fuck. I really did pass out." I groaned as I sat up with my head still throbbing a bit.
'At least now I won't do something stupid or wrong without knowing it, and I won't have to ask basic questions.' I thought as I got up and started going through the information I received.
Starting with the most fundamental things, there is a difference between the day-night cycle of the earth and underworld, with them being twice as long down here, as well as there being no moon nor stars during the nights. The sun is there due to its necessity in growing crops, while the moon and stars had served no purpose and therefor were never installed until after the civil war and the creation of the devil pieces.
Farming itself actually leads to the feudal nature of devil society and culture, as was generally showing in the show, manga and novel, but it is even more so now than canon due to the lack of 'new blood', human society not having truly developed beyond feudalism either, and the presence of the ruling Satan families still being present. Thus, the majority of the underworld is very much medieval, but with twists from devils being magical in nature such as different cattle, more varied crops and different methods to raise either. There were much better products and production methods than on the surface however, with a magical equivalent of the industrial revolution.
Speaking of general technology, it would seem that Magic and long lifespans have allowed for interesting developments. For the rich and powerful families anyway, common devils don't have access to such luxuries. Teleportation circles technically render most other means of travel obsolete and all devils have the ability to fly should that be unavailable, but the presence of flying luxury ships or enchanted carriages are still things here. The medical system is also very reliant of healing potions and Magics, the general belief of healers that although healing type sacred gears can be better better, the devil way is still superior to anything else. The Phenex house is actually very important because of their tears due to this very mentality. Beyond that, Magic replaced a lot of what humans needed to invent machines for, so they never took anything further than they could due to their natural pride and laziness.
Now onto the subject of nobility. The Lucifers stand at the very top, with Asmodeus, Leviathan and Beelzebub directly afterwards even if the three say they are all equal. These four still hold the majority of the power in the Underworld, with the Six Houses of Lucifer directly below them even if they were technically extra houses, as was seen during the Great War when the so-called Lucifer Six had Pillar houses under their command. These ten families make up the core group of the current ruling powers, with subordinate houses supporting them.
With the Satans holding ranks of King and Great King, the pillar houses range from Archduke and bellow as they manage their territories. Each house holds a rank which usually encompasses the personal power of the governing family, the wealth of the family, political weight they represented, the accomplishments of said family, the value of their territory, the strength of their retainers/military and their bloodline. These are the deciding factors regarding ones standing in devil society and why the House of Bael holds the highest rank after the Satans, with the Agares second.
Now we have the general state of the Underworld at the moment. It's been about 100 years since the Great War 'stopped', so at least there aren't any major conflicts currently happening, but tension is still very much present at the border between Devil and Fallen territory. God 'irk' and the Original Satans have fallen, Lilith 'disappearing' as well, leaving the heirs of the Satans preparing to take up the mantle of Satan beside Rivezim. They haven't stated their intentions to restart the Great War yet either, meaning the internal tensions haven't begun, but the current state of the Underworld is definitely not 'good'. There's been a massive drop in population due to the war and because Devils naturally have a hard time procreating, the numbers haven't even begun to recover, especially without Lilith being available to shoot out a bunch of new devils. It also doesn't help that more than half of the Pillar Houses have been rendered extinct and many territories have been abandoned, reducing the amount of ressources available as well. There's also been some pressure from the gods related to death and the afterlife also having their realms connected to the Underworld.
No wonder Bael and Agares decided to revolt.
Even if you take into account His death and the strain the Seraphs must be feeling from having to do their Father's work, them being in the same situation since they can't replenish their numbers and having lost their leaders, they are still a powerful force with many natural advantages against devils. This is not mentioning Grigori who wouldn't let any side gain a large enough advantage and even though they are the smallest numerically, they are the only faction capable of rapidly replenishing its numbers and weaken another at the same time, making them very dangerous. So restarting the Great war in this situation would be near genocidal for any side at moment since even if Grigori restarted it they would be double teamed.
But it's too bad the current Satans are the stupidest kind of 'evil' and just want to kill and destroy everything.
So I summary: the Underworld in struggling to recover from the Great War but their naturally high lifespan and low birthing rate is making this impossible in the short term, the economic situation is centered on the Pillars and Satans, tensions between factions are present, tensions between devils are rising due to the lack of care shown by the Satans but no hostilities yet, and finally I have a theoretical path for my rise.
"Time to get started then." I declared with an excited smile on my face.
_______________________________________
EXTRA AUTHOR NOTE:
Regarding the nobility system of devils, here are the ranks straight from the wiki (with minor details added on:
•Mid-Class devils: Baronet, Baronetess, Knight, or Dame.
These are landless and not inheritable by ones descendants. One can achieve these titles by contributing in various ways to Devils or through favoritism due to the unimportance of such ranks in the eyes of many.
•High-Class devils (from highest to lowest): Marquis, Marchioness, Margrave, Margravine, Count, Countess, Viscount, Viscountess, Baron, or Baroness.
Baron(ess) is the baseline for true nobility, receiving land and an inheritable title. Such positions require sufficient strength, capital and manpower to maintain and possibility improve to further climb the ladder of nobility.
•Ultimate-Class devils (Highest to lowest): Great King, King, Archduke, Archduchess, Duke, Duchess, Prince, or Princess.
These titles require the family to have at least one ultimate-class devil as head, heir or true family member to obtain and maintain. This is the reason why an important family like the Phenex have not risen beyond Marquis.
To raise ones standing requires, on top of previously mentioned manpower, finances and personal abilities, contributions towards devils in research, military or accomplishment, and a suitable track record of profitable contracts with humans.
Now as for the Balance Breaker.
I chose Latin because the languages used for balance breaker names are quite varied and I thought Latin would be the best fit for something like the holy nails. Most likely made by Romans, used by romans and Jesus was killed by the romans, as well as Latin being very strongly linked to Christianity.
Sanctus filius a servitute liberatur -> The holy son is freed from bondage.
Longinus are already supposed to be broken and their balance breakers are things which are supposed to be able to change the world, so I made it capable of doing just that. I mean the original Alphecca Tyrant was said to be able to break the seal of Trihexia, so now I made it pretty OP.
The abilities kinda come from what the purpose of the original nails and what could have been should Jesus free himself to guide others personally, with a mix of the original abilities being boosted. Hope it makes sense.
Also the reason he says he can't take on Satan-Classes is because he's basically a glass canon right, with no experience fighting as a devil and no true understanding of his abilities. He isn't issei who somehow is able to just brawl people and is a cockroach, fighting someone with actual fighting experience and training would wreck him. (It's just so sad watching beings with hundreds of years of life and some who fought in wars, being beaten down by a teenager who never learnt how to fight and has been a devil for like a year and a half.)
