54 Spear Boy Makes Plans, The World Prepares

(Third Person POV)

-Land Of Shadows-

Tens of islands float across an endless sky, each one taken up with some purpose from research, training, development, and general living. Below the islands lie endless dark clouds cloaking what lay beneath them.

While loud, the cries of shadow beasts never made it to the islands due to the varied wards and runes coating them. If one of these islands were taken from the Land of Shadows and placed in the real world, they could sit in the Arctic and be a veritable sanctuary, and each one was unique in its own way.

Some are made of metal, dirt, magic, and imagination. But on one where a facility lies, the area around it is cordoned off in its own separate pocket dimension. This island holds the facility of Truth, where the most dangerous magical experiments are held, and was previously the home of Charybdis, but now something more is being made.

Hundreds of Cao Cao's clones run about the facility, with books and runes flying everywhere. Lightning, light, darkness, and prana light up the place in endless kaleidoscopes of colors. Hundreds of magical formulas fly about the walls and ceiling and then disappear as if never there.

But then, as the various clones stopped in their tracks, another clone exited a portal holding 73 bodies wrapped in bandages and coated in preservation magics.

The one holding the bodies aloft with telekinesis looked to all the clones, and they all nodded to one another and got to work. All of the bodies were taken by various groups to be studied and analyzed down to the beginnings of their histories. Tracing is truly amazing magic.

Alchemy and runecraft combined as the bodies were placed in various machines, scanning them down to the very idea they were created on. 

Most would think that devil Magic, especially the magic of the pillars, is unique, and they would be right, but while their magic is unique, the pillar Magic is something else entirely as each pillar's magic is connected to a concept.

Some are very simple, like the Bael trait of POD and the regeneration of the Phenex. But some are interesting as some Bloodlines allow for the creation of conceptual deals between two parties where anything can be traded from time to wealth and, even the souls of future beings. There are mutations, of course, with many variations of the same trait, but such is evolution.

Even the most stagnant of races will manage to change somehow, and in some way, it is inevitable. But pillar magic aside, it is the bodies that mattered more as they would be the beginning of a massive project in the making.

As the clone Cao Cao, who brought the bodies into the lab, watched as they were turned into pure data, he smiled and dispelled as the lab returned to its chaotic state.

(Cao Cao POV)

As I practice my spear techniques, I feel the flood of information fill my mind as the clone I sent to the Underworld following Lavinia has done his job. 

His mission was to use the mirror I had given Lavinia as a means to gain the dimensional coordinates for the Underworld, as to enter, you would need to be taken by a devil in order to not set off every single alarm or someone given permission by someone in the Underworld.

I did consider using the train, but then I realized my holy signature, even reduced to nonexistence, would possibly get me caught, so I piggybacked off of the magical formula placed on the mirror. 

It is similar to the markings that was used by Minato Namikaze but uses mana instead of chakra. Once she arrived in the Underworld, my clone, who I had had following her from a distance, piggybacked off the coordinates and teleported to the Underworld.

And as much as Satan's desire to keep their room secure, which they have done a decent job at, it is not enough to keep me out. so now I have free reign to go and move about the Underworld undetected as long as I do not get close to any of the Satans themselves. I could walk into the houses of one of their pillar families, sit at their table, and drink tea for hours on end, and they would never know.

Ajuka is the greatest threat, but if he tries to use his Kankara Formula against me, it would almost kill him as I used my own version to interfere with his own. The process was laborious as it required using my All Seeing Eyes to see into the very core of the mana itself that Kankara uses and manipulates, so anyone attempting to use their own version would suffer immense consequences.

But I made it so it only occurred if they tried to Target me with it, and it's not like I planned to walk into his lab, and my clone did not even need to as his job was to roam the vast world and summon more clones to search the alternate dimension to search for the bodies of the original creations of Lucifer. Now that the bodies have been found and any known bodies have been replaced with fakes, all that remains is the next step.

Having these all-seeing eyes and the crest of Solomon is having an interesting effect as any time I close my eyes, even without using any of my powers, I see visions of so many things: the past, the present, and the future. It seems that due to my usage of the magic crest and my mastery over his magic, I am beginning to take more than just his magical knowledge from this crest.

Taking a breath, I de-summon my Longinus and look to another island and see Medusa and Scylla fighting each other. Scylla, currently using her multiple heads, is trying to grasp at Medusa, who is constantly petrifying them using her eyes. 

Which I modified to be less hair full of snakes and more mystic eyes from fate. When I showed them to her, she said they were some of the most beautiful jewels she had ever seen, and I simply chuckled at the irony of that statement.

I had made a blindfold for her to help her control her eyes, but she said that she would only use it when she left this place. As in her words, "I have lived a thousand years unknown and unloved, and I woke up every day seeing the same visage in front of me unchanging and stagnant, yet after everything, I got used to it as even now with all of the changes I have experienced I am who I am. Why deny myself if I cannot change it myself?"

All I could do in response was give her a hug, which she shakily accepted, with Valerie joining in and then Scylla wrapping all of us up in a massive group hug. Scathach simply laughed as I was being crushed between multiple pairs of a man's dream, but all I could beg for was the ability to breathe.

Thankfully, my smart atoms made it so that I could take in a lot more air, which definitely helps when dealing with this universe's shenanigans. I even noticed some normal Harem tropes try to appear one time. I walked in on the women in the baths I set up all naked, and I simply got in with them as none of them minded.

I have nothing to hide after all, as after all of this time, my body had developed to its near-prime state. Even though I'm currently 15 years old, I have the body of a man in his early twenties, and it shows. 

But that may just be Scathach and Valerie trying to mess with me and see me flustered. But I shall not grant them the satisfaction.

As I finished my practice, I then began to focus on trying to separate the imagination from the demonic power. Magic should not be limited by complex formulas, at least not even to the highest-level wizards. Holding a ball of demonic power in my hand, I spend hours trying to understand it by using tracing magecraft, my eyes and my various studies in other magic systems.

"What do you hide from me?" I mutter to myself as I stared into the very building blocks of conceptual existence. My Archmage essence had already copied multiple pillar abilities, but I was missing something, a piece of the puzzle that I just lacked. So, as I stand back up, I teleport over to where Valerie is and see her practicing with her shadow magics inherent to being a vampire.

Scathach actually used my memory magic to give the girl all the memories she had of her ancestor. Specifically, she had a battle with the original Dracula, who, according to her, could use the Shadows that lie in anything against her, even her own shadow. Scathach even stated that the injuries to her shadow took the longest to heal, only managing to beat the bloodsucker due to his own arrogance.

In addition to the fact that she had a weapon that had an instant death function, regardless of the circumstances, I watch as she manipulates her own shadow, but then something interesting happens that fascinates me and terrifies me. 

Because from her shadow came a small little imp-like creature that had no true form but two yellow glowing eyes, and as they stared at one another, she tilted her head at it, and the shadow imp did the same.

The sight made me want to laugh at the pure confusion on Valerie's face, and as the shadow imp walked over to her, it patted her head and disappeared Valerie simply smiled and turned around, and as she saw me, she jumped at me to which I caught her both arms and asked: "Valerie what did I say about jumping into my arms?"

"That you will always catch me?" She said without looking me in the eyes, and I smirked at her shamelessness, which made me both proud and a bit nervous at her adaptation to her new environment. 

Let's just say none of us are exactly normal, and I would rather Valerie not have the classic situation where a person not exposed to normal life is able to understand the customs of other societies. 

Think of it like a hero from another world-type story where very overpowered trainers train them but are never taught that what they're doing is overpowered, so the trainee, when he is done with his training, goes out into the world and then fails to understand the magnitude of his power.

I.e. I am scared for her common sense after being around Scatahch and me for so long.

"Valerie, you know I will, but that is not the reason I am here." She then gave me a questioning look as I continued.

"I would like to ask if you want to go on a small trip with Scathach and me to England. You do need some time out of this place after all." She then placed a finger on her chin as she thought about it, and I waited after sitting down near the edge.

'Do I have to?" I shake my head, but she then looks to the "sun" and says, "I am a bit scared to go outside, but if you think I am ready, then I will try." Smiling at her, I pat her on the head as she looked out on the many islands floating in the sky.

"You know you don't have to-"

"I'm not forcing myself, Cao Cao. I need to do this. My brother is gone, and Gasper may be a devil now, but I can't simply be scared for the rest of my life. What life would I live if I dishonored them so." I was about to tell her that Gasper is with the Gremory Family now, but I wanted to see where she goes with this.

"I have trained with my gear for days now, and thanks to the spells you taught me and the memories from Master Scathach, I can be useful for something other than my gear. Besides, I always wanted to try the food called fish and chips." I then nodded as I placed her down, but as I did so, she refused to let go, and I sighed, knowing what she wanted,

I then gave her my arm, and she blushed in embarrassment and bit down on it and then drank from it due to this being an ecchi world; she literally started moaning in pleasure as I thanked Life Return once again, as I do not do jailbait or lolis. I could actually feel Valerie growing in strength slowly but surely, which is quite useful for vampires to have.

But she is by no means a threat to me as she is just drinking my blood, and I made sure to remove any additives like my magic, holy magics, and smart atoms. But apparently, campione's are made to seduce people as my blood to her is addictive but in a good way.

Not like I'm arguing here, and as she stopped, she seemed almost delirious, and I teleported her back to her island and let her rest. Looking at my LP stores, I smile, seeing the rapidly growing number.

After two weeks, my LP had grown to 20,918,800, but I needed more.

There is still so much more to do before the inevitable.