Mastery Of Strength.
Justinian knew that at the current moment, he was just a small fry on the scale of DC. He didn't know why he got sent to DC of all places as he thought he was going to be sent somewhere easier. Though it was probably him not being grateful for his reincarnation.
Regardless, Justinian was not one to get caught up in the past. Just as he said to Diana and the Justice League, he would not leave Mars for weeks if not months. The passage of time had lost all meaning to him, but he did have a question.
'Ddraig, Albion, if I continue to use the Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing like this will I also learn magic?'
[You already are. Dragon Aura is a draconic magic from Dragon Deus or as that Light Novel you read is called DxD.]
He said the last part disgusted, but he continued.
[I will say this, I have had previous hosts who were powerful. But none of them could use the Boosted Gear to the level you have without the Balance Breaker. Their mortal human bodies could not endure the strain of Boosting more than a few times.
However, your Custodes genetically engineered body not only endures the strain but even improves real-time. Any microfractures of damage regenerate before they can slow you down. I wonder what you will become in a decade at this rate.]
{Agreed, but since you are our host and all of our past wielders' souls are gone, the Curse of the Juggernaut Drive is no more. I wonder what would happen if you used the chant? Would you need to combine the two to make it work?}
"True. We got a whole world to ourselves, boys and enemies."
He put his helmet on and twirled his spear before turning around. Popping out of the ground like giant moles White Martians began to gather around him.
[Well then, why don't you try to use our elements? I am a Fire Dragon, and Albion is a Poison Dragon. Why not see if you can fight with just that?]
{I agree, my Poison was unmatched even after I sealed my original venom.}
With that, he sent his spear back to his Soul and instead focused on his soul link to both Heavenly Dragons. With none of the seals the original God placed, the bond was perfect.
He exhaled as he opened his palms as powerful Dragon Flames appeared on his left. On his right dripping purple poison began to drip onto the ground, but the moment the flames appeared in his hand the Martians roared in fear.
The fire was a mental trigger placed in Martians to prevent them from becoming their original violent race the Burning. However, Dragon Fire did not operate like mundane flames and not after this.
He grinned as he clasped his hands together and fused the Venom of Albion and the Flames of Ddraig. He focused on the feeling of his magic and created dark purple toxic flames. Dragons were beings tied to magic, and having two of them meant that he was taking on some of their properties.
He saw the Martians begin to back away, but he was not a merciful guy anymore. All mercy, fear, doubt, and hesitation had been bred out of him at the genetic level.
[Boost, Boost, Boot, Boost, Boost.]
He surged the Dragon Aura into his hands and he launched a wave of toxic flames. The Martians screeched in terror and tried to burrow back into the ground, but they were not fast enough.
Any that were caught in the flames began to melt and burn away under the toxic effects of Dragon Poison. Albion's poison his peak had been able to kill the very gods, and Justinian planned to use it to its full power in the future.
Mix that with all burning Dragon Flames from his rival and he creates a deadly weapon. Justinian smirked as he moved his arms in a circle as he blasted these deadly toxic flames all around him. Any Martians that stuck around melted and burned away to nothing.
When they were gone, he waved his hands and extinguished the flames on his arms.
"There we are."
All around him, nothing remained of the Martians who tried to attack him. However, this meant that he could not eat them after this.
"Save this move for when things get hectic. I can't eat ashes."
[See that White One, my flames are superior.]
{Save it Red One, it was my venom that made the mixture stronger.}
"It was both of you that made that possible, stop arguing."
[Yes Dad.]
Albion chuckled.
{We don't even have those.}
Justinian remembered something.
"Oh right, Dragons in Dragon Deus can just appear from magic right?"
[Correct, me and Albion are so strong because we are one of the naturally occurring dragons. Don't get it twisted and any dragon has the potential to improve. But those born from an egg just start from zero while we are born powerful.]
{I guess you can say that me and Ddraig are opposites. He was formed from the eruption of a Volcano overflowing with Mana. As for me, I was created from a Poison Zone in the Underworld.
We quickly grew stronger until we were called the Heavenly Dragons. We were the first beings who would not die to each other's strongest moves. As such, we sealed them away and created our techniques.
Then we battled to see who was the strongest, and despite being surrounded by the Three Factions we still fought each other more than focused on our enemies. It was what allowed them to beat us.}
[Not my proudest moment, if we had just worked together we would have won. But we were young, Prideful Dragons. Can you blame us?]
"Nah, not really. You had a rivalry to settle and you were not about to let it go. However, many things have happened since then like you being sealed in the original Longinus. Now, though, you are in far better Gears."
[True, this new Boosted Gear is far more efficient then the original, and my soul is quite free.]
{Same. I am still bound to it, but without a great deal of restriction.}
With that, he waved his hand and extinguished the still-burning Toxic Flames. With that, he walked off into the Red Sands. This is how he spent his time for the next 6 weeks. The White Martians were numerous and they often attacked him, but far less than before.
Now that they knew he could use Fire that killed them they avoided him like the plague. Some of the especially brave or foolish still took a crack at him. He didn't often use his flames and instead focused on his other abilities.
Day by Day, his natural ability to sense and use his magic was growing stronger. The Emperor's restriction on Psychic Powers was also being melted away by his constant training. Every time he Boosted several times his 6th sense became stronger than ever.
It was bordering on future sight as he could always react a few moments before an attack was sent his way. It was like he got Lion El'Johnson's Instinct without the severe lack of people skills.
The biggest thing was that his Custodes baseline body was growing stronger on its own to endure the levels of power flowing through it. He was faster, more durable, quicker on his feet and his gear was growing alongside his growing soul.
Having Soul Bounded Gear was the best because you never had to replace it. As you grew stronger, it also did. Through his 6 weeks of constant training and battle against tides of White Martians, he had grasped some of his abilities.
The Boost and Divide were simple enough and he had them down. Interestingly, the Reflecter of Albion and the Penetrate of Ddraig could each be Boosted. This means that in the future, he could, in theory, reflect Darkseid's Omega Beams if he put enough power into the Reflector.
As for Pentrate, it had the bonus of also having that useful trait. Some of the strongest foes in DC had incredible defenses and if he put enough power into it he could even pierce the gods.
On another note, Albion even started to teach him some more dangerous skills. Like the Half Dimension which affected even Dimensions. What that meant for a reality like DC he didn't know, but Dimensional Magic was always powerful.
He was on a quest for improvement, but today was the way when the 6th week would turn into 7. Currently, he was sitting in front of a campfire roasting some White Martian Warrior that had gotten ballsy and wanted to fight him.
He had battled it with his bare hands and he had ripped its head off in the brawl. The Martian struggled to pierce his Auramite Armor which had only gotten more durable as his soul grew. Its Psychic abilities did not work on him as the warding on it prevented psychic intrusion.
[Even if a Psychic got past your defenses, they have us to deal with.]
{The mind of a Dragon is a very dangerous place. There are three souls in here so finding the right mind would be hard.}
Just as he grabbed a rack of skewered ribs he looked up at the sky. It had been 7 weeks since he met Wonder Woman and it seemed she was back. His 6th sense just told him that it was her.
He didn't stand and just began to rip off the flesh of the ribs with his teeth. He could eat the bones, but he satisfied himself with the marrow inside. When the Justice League ship landed, Wonder Woman walked out near him.
When she saw what he was eating and he half butcher Martian next to him she didn't judge. For now, he greeted her.
"Greetings back to Mars."
"Thank you for the welcome Justinian. I am here on League business. You see, Bruce has been keeping an eye on your activities."
"I know, his primitive Satellites are quite easily detected."
Diana was not tech-savvy or from the future so she couldn't agree or disagree with him.
"Right then, Bruce wanted to talk to you about your energy. Every time you want to release your energy you vent it from your Crystal Wings right?"
"Yes. What about it?"
Now Diana told him something interesting.
"Well, he isn't the best at Magic, but he has a few ways to test it. He is saying that the concentration of magic is rising as your power isn't based on science. It is magic so he is worried what effect it will have on the Martians if they learn to tap into it."
"I see. I haven't noticed a big change as even at my strongest, it could take decades to have a noticeable change. I am not even going to stay on Mars for much longer. I would like to spend some time on Terra before it becomes an irradiated wasteland."
"Barry told me, you said Techno Barbarian Warlords took over right?"
"Yes, after the collapse of humanity's fearing Empire to Warp Storms, Terra descended into infighting. Humans fought for the advanced technologies they forgot about. Often, they used some very dangerous weapons which led to Terra turning from a blue gem of life to a wasteland.
I and my legion of the Legio Custodes took place in the fighting and we wiped out the Barbarian Warlords in the Unification Wars. Glorious days, but so long ago."
She sat down on a rock as she wondered about that.
"How old are you?"
"Me? I was turned into a Custodes in the 31st Millenium and it was the 999th century of the 41st Millenium making me almost 10,000 years old."
'Am I lying though, but am I? The genetic memory is there.'
Hearing his words made Diana look at his face. He was not aged as he looked to be about 28 or 30 with short black hair. He had a defined jawline, and bright golden eyes that spoke of won battles and wars.
"And you are still human?"
"Yes. I don't know how many times must repeat it, but we of the Legio Custodes are supposed to be the pinnacle of mankind. The greatest Warriors Mankind has ever produced. We do not age, we do not suffer the effects of time, we require no sleep, and we can stay awake for a century without food or water.
We can breathe in any atmosphere, and we can eat almost anything. Our wounds close before they can bleed, and we can survive even with our organs damaged."
Diana seemed quite awed as she respected powerful warriors.
"The more I hear of your time the more I want to see it."
"Trust me, you do not. That is why I wish to prevent my timeline from ever coming to be. But, that is a long time from now."
He finished off his rack of ribs before tossing the bones away. He picked up his Guardian Spear and placed it on his shoulder.
"Would you honor me with another sparing match?"
She grinned as that sounded like a date.
"Any time, I want to get my honor back from the first time."
She just smiled.
"Then, take your honor back by besting me."
Diana had every intention of winning this time.
"If the Custodes are the greatest male warriors Mankind has produced, then we Amazons are the greatest female warriors."
He gripped his Guardian Spear tighter as they tensed before they charged at each other. He could get used to this as he had met her twice, and she was quickly becoming his favorite person.