8 Chapter 7
Dark opened a door back to their plane and everyone said goodbye and left the Demonic Realm. When they had returned to their plane, Brain and his team started to get busy. They pulled out a stretcher and asked Dark to lie down for a full-body scan which he did. The President had already been sent back to his original location and he immediately went into crisis mode to prep for the operation to commence.
Dark finished the full body scan and got off the stretcher while they waited for Brain to receive the results. While they were waiting they asked how Dark was feeling, to which he replied that he felt lighter and stronger.
"Motherfucker" Brain exclaimed when he finished receiving the results of the scan and read through it. He quickly pulled up a second screen and started comparing, swearing the whole time.
"Care to explain?" Mad Scientist asked sarcastically.
Brain looked up and as a reply set his light brain to holographic screen mode, showing them the screen.
"These are Dark's base stats before the removal of the Shackles" he said pointing at the screen. Everyone looked closely at the screen.
========
Nickname: Dark
Class: Summoner
Gender: Chimeric Omega
Rank : SSS
WILL: 6,000
INT: 250,000
DEX: 250,000
STR: 250,000
DEF: 250,000
CONS: 250,000
WIS : 250,000
CHARM: 250,000
PERC: 250,000
========
"Yeah, these are known by all of us and hated by most of us" Assassin replied sulkily.
"Okay, now check his new stats" Brain said while setting the other screen to holographic screen mode as well.
========
Nickname: Dark
Class: Summoner
Gender: Chimeric Omega
Rank : WMD
WILL: 14,000
INT: 600,000
DEX: 600,000
STR: 600,000
DEF: 600,000
CONS: 600,000
WIS : 600,000
CHARM: 600,000
PERC: 600,000
========
Everyone gasped in shock when they saw the stats displayed and looked at Dark in abject horror, "You have officially gone beyond freakish and have now become a monster" Assassin wailed.
"Thanks for the compliment, Assassin" Dark replied with a smirk.
"Please remember that these are his base stats, Wrath doubles them, Nightmares doubles them again, Hell quadruples them, Abyss has a tenfold increase of that…Eh Dark, what does Void give you?" Brain stated.
(Quick maths lesson here : Base = 14,000, Wrath = 28,000, Nightmare = 56,000, Hell = 224,000, Abyss = 2,240,000 and Void, well I really do not wanna go there)
"Void is ELE" Dark replied airily.
"The fuck, whaddya mean Extinction Level Event?" Brain exclaimed.
"Literally what it means, the end of all life"
"Fuck"
"Ehm, I'll note that down" Brain said in shock.
"Just curious, we were told that releasing the Shackles would release the other half of your power, so how come your stats more than doubled?" Mad Scientist asked.
"How do I explain this, for every Rank I go up, I gain an additional boost in stats. This is me dumbing that shit down, it has something to do with Soul Density.
Remember how I always plateau for a bit and then jump up a Rank? Well, this is coz I am not able to Rank up directly, I have to build up my Soul Strength a little bit more, which compresses my Soul Strength. Which in turn purifies it and makes it denser. Understand?" Dark did his best to explain the situation as simply as possible.
Mad Scientist and the others nodded as they did understand it, some people did this as well to become stronger than their peers, "Is this the cause of your increased violent outbursts?" Mad Scientist asked his follow-up question. Dark confirmed this and Brain and the others made a note of this as this was important to remember.
Brain had communicated all of this new information to the President to see how to proceed. He quickly got the reply to just update the information and add a description that Dark's increased violent outbursts were determined to be caused by him getting ready to Rank up as well as him becoming a Teenager.
"You know, I have just realised that Dark is gonna get volatile again real soon" Brain exclaimed when they were about to exit the venue.
"Huh? Explain this to me, coz I'm not following your mind jumps" Cowboy said aggrievedly.
"Dark currently has 14,000 points of Soul Strength, the next Rank up is at 19,999" Brain replied excitedly.
"Fuck, we gonna go through this shit again that soon?!" Assassin cried.
"From now on, his Soul Strength testing is done weekly instead of monthly" Mad Scientist said decisively.
Brain nodded and passed on the new rule to his team members and looked to Dark, "Please cooperate, this way we might be able to use this data to predict how long you will need to Rank up"
With this, they exited the venue to find the Principal waiting for them outside. He was pacing back and forth nervously, muttering to himself.
"Yo, Principal, whassup?" Brain greeted him.
"Ah, good, you are done. I have found out how Killer and Dark were assigned to the same Dorm" the Principal blurted out, "You had advised us to make sure that Dark's Dorm Mates did not have a timid character to prevent issues.
Well, what we did was have the AI assign the top 7 most fearless Students as Dark's Dorm Mates. What we didn't account for is that Killer was the first name to come up in that list and we forgot to exclude his name from the assignment and that was how Killer ended up being in the neighbouring room to Dark. We are truly sorry for this blunder"
"There shouldn't be too much of an issue. Right, Angel?" Bomber glowered at Dark.
"Yeah, yeah, I promise I will not kill or maim Killer" Angel shrugged offhandedly, "But I cannot guarantee that he will not suffer" he continued with a ghost of a smile on his face.
"..." the Principal looked at Dark incredulously, "Uhhh, what is going on?" he asked, looking extremely confused.
"Angel's Teachers explicitly forbade him from killing or maiming Killer. Oh, and Angel Ranked up, so he'll be a bit calmer for a bit" Mad Scientist explained calmly.
"Good, good…Wait, what?! How did he Rank up so suddenly?" the Principal exclaimed.
"Ah yes, we were the same. But apparently, the excessive violent outbursts were caused by Angel plateauing before Ranking up, now that he has Ranked up, he should be a bit calmer" Mad Scientist explained as if it was completely normal.
"So how come he gained a tail and has grown 20 cm in length?" the Principal questioned.
"He gained both from Ranking up. Don't worry, we will explain during the lecture tonight" Mad Scientist dismissed the topic.
"Now then, shall we get everybody settled?" Bull asked, looking around.
"Sure, let's do that. Dark, I will be coming with you and one of my team will become your personal chef from now on" Brain stated, categorically cutting off any and all protests from Dark. Dark just looked at him and rolled his eyes while disdaining to say anything to Brain.
Brain sent his team members ahead, while he discussed with the Principal where they will be staying, only to find out that the Principal had assigned the Dorm next to Darks as their living quarters for the duration of the school year.
"Excellent, this saves us a lot of hassle and will allow us to get on scene quickly if Dark acts up in his Dorm" Brain grinned at Dark, who was still ignoring him. Brain was sceptical and checked the volume of his earbuds.
He frowned when he saw that they were turned up so Dark could ignore him. He resolutely turned the volume down to its original level, soliciting a snarl from Dark. Brain gave Dark a one-fingered salute and continued to discuss with the Principal. This volume fight continued until Brain and the others finished their discussion. Brain then resolutely had Dark follow him to the Dorm.
As they walked away, the Principal asked if there was anything wrong between the two, only to get a reply that this was normal behaviour for the two and he would get used to it soon enough.
"Angel sees Brain as a second Dad, to be honest. Brian has been his Handler since he was recognised as a Chimeric Omega during his gender test. Brain sees Angel as often as his parents do, maybe more often even. Angel knows he can say anything to Brain and Brain will listen to him without dismissing anything, unless it's a hare-brained idea or if it's not gonna be allowed.
Angel has always said that Brain is the only one who truly understands him. He is not dismissing us with this, but Brain is the only one that is actually able to fully understand how Angel's mind works and his Demonic nature. We are not able to do this as our minds are clouded by our love of Angel.
Don't get me wrong, Brain loves Angel just as much as we do. He thinks of him as a son. But they just get along on a completely different level, which is good. Brain is one of the few that can get Angel to listen to him" Marshal Moore explained more in-depth, so the Principal could fully understand how important Brain was.
"I really hate to say it, but Father is correct. Angel can completely open up to Brain, he's not able to do this with us" Bazooka sighed, sadness clouding his tone, "I am jealous and envious of their bond"
Brain and Dark were walking towards Dark's Dorm, with Dark still ignoring Brain.
"Oi, brat, Why are you ignoring me? C'mon talk to me, lemme hear it. I know something's got you troubled" Brain said to Dark.
"Fine, old man, I'll talk. Stop nagging me. There's something confusing about this guy Killer" Dark said while sighing.
"Oh, do tell" Brain said teasingly.
"Alright, shut up and let me speak" Dark retorted snappily.
"Okay, okay, don't get your tail in a knot" Brain replied.
"Ya know, when I first saw him, I felt weird. I didn't really flip out due to him stealing my prey, it was more because he made me feel strange and my instinct was to attack and kill him.
It was like I had a voice in my heart telling me that if I let him live, he would be the cause of me becoming weak.
I don't know, it's weird right?" Dark laughed at himself mockingly after he said this.
Brain looked at him intensely, "Kid, do me a favour here and set up some Barriers. We need to have a serious talk and I for one do not want anyone else hearing this shit, you get me?"
Dark nodded and 2 blood red bubbles projected out of him, enclosing the two of them inside, "Go on, we're cut off from the outside"
"Before I talk, Ima need you to promise not to get pissed, okay?" Brain said, "I mean it, take an Oath, right here, right now!"
"Fine, old man. I hereby swear on my identity as the Demonic Summoner and solemnly give my Oath that I will not attack, maim or torture the person before me after hearing what he has to say" Dark completed the Oath, "There, happy now?" he asked bitchily.
Brain nodded, "Okay, now we can get down to business. It's regarding Killer, remember how both Councils advised you not to kill or maim the guy?"
Dark nodded to show he still remembered.
"Remember that the Council of Summoners gave me a stone called the Soul Stone that is used to locate the Demonic Guardian?" Brain asked again.
Dark nodded again to show he also remembered this.
"Well, the Demonic Guardian is what they call your Destined Mate. Now here's the kicker, the reaction you had to Killer is something they deem as a sign he might be your Demonic Guardian and the Soul Stone is required to confirm whether he is or not" Brain explained in one breath, nervously keeping an eye on Dark's expression.
Dark stilled, his eyes narrowing. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, looking like he was doing his hardest to suppress whatever emotion or impulse he was having at that moment. He exhaled heavily and opened his eyes to look at Brain, "So lemme make sure I understood what you said correctly. My reaction to Killer is seen as a sign that he might be my Destined Mate, also known as the Demonic Guardian, and both Councils gave you this Soul Stone and the instructions on how to use it. All just to confirm whether he is or not?"
"Basically" Brain nodded.
"Sons of bitches!" Dark snarled.
"Oi, that's low, even for you. Do not ever curse my Dad! Got it?" Brain snarled back.
"Yeah, yeah, fine, whatever" Dark waved it off, "So both Councils are just waiting for me to submit to some random Alpha that thinks he is better than me, just because of his gender?!"
"You're wrong there, kiddo. Bonding with your Mate is not the same as submitting. When you Bond, you become one entity. Equal partners so to speak. Submitting has nothing to do with it.
Relationships are all about giving and taking, harmony, balance. If one of the parties involved is just taking and never giving, the relationship is gonna fail real fast.
Lemme ask you something, is your Dad ever submissive towards your Father?" Brain reasoned with Dark.
"Well no" Dark answered.
"There ya go, the proof is right before your eyes" Brain said, "Ya know, let's do this. You give it a try, ya know, to see how he is, and if he ever tries to make you do or become something you don't want, I'll transport both of you into your Training Realm, release your suppressors and you can give him the beat down of a lifetime. Doing it this way will allow both Councils, myself and you to check out the guy's real character. C'mon, dya think anything can get by the Seers of both Councils? Deal?"
"...I don't know…" Dark replied hesitatingly and with a conflicted expression.
"Hey, I got an idea. Does Loquentium know how to Stealth, so no one can see him? Brain asked excitedly.
Dark nodded, not yet understanding what Brain was thinking of.
"Well, why don't you Summon Loquentium, have him go Stealth and follow us to check out Killer, maybe the Council will be able to spot stuff and along the way, give you some advice on how to behave around Killer. Whaddya think of my plan, devious ain't it?" Brain said proudly.
"It isn't devious, but it might actually work" Dark replied.
Dark quickly completed the Summoning Chant and Loquentium appeared beside them, "For which purpose have you Summoned me Summoner?" he asked.
Dark pointed at Brain, "I'll let him explain as it's his idea"
Brain quickly explained the plan to Loquentium, who looked at him appreciatively, "This idea will allow us to get confirmation quicker and also allow us to assess the suspected Guardian up closely. I will connect to both of your minds Telepathically so we may be able to communicate quickly without causing suspicions" Loquentium spoke as he became intangible as well as invisible, "You can retract the Barriers, Summoner" he spoke in their minds.
Brain and Dark looked at each other and after the Barriers were retracted started walking towards the Dorms again.
"Summoner, do you remember the Bloodwine I gave you? I would recommend you consume half a litre of it, this will allow you to be more relaxed" Loquentium spoke to Dark.
"What's Bloodwine?" Brain asked curiously.
"It's a beverage that assists all Demonic beings in regulating their more violent instincts. The Young Ones drink a non-alcoholic version, while Adults drink an alcoholic version. It helps us keep the Demonic society more stable with less infighting" Loquentium replied, "I did not dare give it to him before his Shackles were released, as it might have had a detrimental effect to him"
"So it helps Demons be more mellow?" Brain asked.
"In a way, but if someone overindulges in it, they will become intoxicated. A bit like your Human state of drunkenness"
"Good to know" Brain replied.
Meanwhile Dark had drunk half a litre of the Bloodwine, "Tastes delicious"
"Do not drink more than half a litre daily, unless you are told by the Council to increase the dosage"
Dark nodded to show his agreement.
