Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
I took a step forward at the same time Allen disappeared from the place. I matched his speed and found myself halfway across from him. My face was in front of his. I saw his eyes open in surprise. I projected Kanshou and Bakuya and turned to hit him.
Allen's speed was fast enough to stop instantly, turn his body, and clash his spear against mine, yet my strength was greater, sending him flying back the way he came.
I didn't even bother to land; I used my wings to move quickly. I appeared in the middle of the Gulliver brothers as my wings disappeared. They all reacted instantly; they moved their weapons larger than their bodies and tried to attack me at the same time.
I launched a powerful Protego that stopped the attacks with a dull thud, then began attacking them rapidly; they immediately protected themselves and used their medallions to upgrade themselves.
" Ariel!" I exclaimed as wind enchantment magic surrounded me. I manipulated the wind around me and attacked the Gulliver brothers with ease. They were able to defend themselves for a few seconds, but I finally broke through their defenses and knocked them unconscious.
Although the Guillver brothers were strong, they were still only level 5, and even with the medallions, they were definitely not up to par. Once they were unconscious, I used magic to push them back and hurl them towards Freya.
Finally, I looked at Hedin, who was singing.
" Caelus Hildr!"Hedin's chant had ended. Long arrows of lightning appeared behind him, hundreds of them surrounding him, and he launched them in my direction. I dropped my swords and raised my hand.
" Caelus Hildr!" I shouted at the same time. I could see Hedin's eyes open wide, yet he did not stop his attack. The spears came closer toward me, but my lightning arrows intercepted each one, exploding and rendering his attack useless.
Meanwhile, Allen approached from behind me and tried to attack me. I lifted my foot and stamped it on the ground. Stakes instantly sprang up, trying to impale Allen, who destroyed them with a single swing of his sword. Even so, it was enough time to project another pair of Kanshou and Bakuya.
Hogni suddenly appeared and joined the fray. My hands went numb as I kept up with Allen and Hogni's combined attack, even using the pair of Kanshou and Bakuya I had discarded just seconds before.
My swords spun and moved, tracking each other, intercepting and attacking Hogni and Allen, forcing them to defend or change position. My eyes darted around; Hedin's Caelus Hildr had stopped, as had mine.
" Caelus Hildr!" I shouted again, causing both Allen and Hogni's faces to darken. This time, I didn't use it to attack; I summoned it in the sky, over a large area, several times. Thousands of arrows appeared in the sky and began to rain down on all the Freya familia executives, causing massive destruction.
Hogni and Allen had difficulty keeping up while defending themselves against my attacks and lightning arrows; they eventually used their medallions.
The burst of speed and strength was enough to move through the rain of arrows and resume his attack.
" By the power of the demon blade, bring eternal destruction, Burn Dain!!" Hogni got close enough so that his arm was near my hip at the same time as Allen forced me to defend myself against his spear.
Barely glancing sideways, I opened a portal. Hogni's hand went through it; his eyes opened, and he turned his head to see his hand emerge next to his head, engulfed in fire. Then the explosion enveloped him, and the force of his own magic blew him away.
Allen seemed shocked for a few seconds. Taking advantage of his surprise, I broke through his defense, spun around, and kicked him hard in the stomach, sending him flying dozens of meters. I moved Caelus Hildr's remaining lightning arrows toward Allen and turned to look at Hedin, unaware of the attack's outcome.
" - Kokonoe! Play music eternally, immortal saint – Laurus Hildr!"I looked at Hedin, who had 9 golden fox tails behind him as he activated his enchantment magic on the three remaining members of the Freya familia.
" - Hildis Vini!" Ottar's deep voice echoed throughout the place. In a fraction of a second, Ottar finally made his appearance. Ottar was bigger than me, although only by about 15 centimeters, but the mass of muscle contrasted against my thin figure, especially when he appeared above me with his huge sword over his head.
Ottar was enveloped in an aura of lightning thanks to Hedin's Laurus Hildr, which also enveloped his enormous sword and greatly increased his speed; a person of that size shouldn't be able to move at Ottar's speed. His sword was also enveloped in a golden light from his Hildis Vini.
Ottar's muscles tensed completely; I could see the magic activating on his medallions as his physical strength and weight increased.
I dropped my weapons and raised my hands.
" Rho Aias!" I didn't even hesitate to unfurl my shield, the seven-petaled flower appeared in front of me along with its seven shields, just as Ottar roared as the blow descended.
Ottar's first blow immediately shattered three of the shields, and the fourth quickly followed as the fifth began to crack.
"- Burn Dain!" I saw Hogni appear beneath Ottar; his body was battered, but he was still moving as he tried to hit me again with his magic.
" Strike eternally, immortal general of lightning – Varian Hildr!" Hedin appeared beside Ottar, pointing his staff in my direction. I could see six tails behind Hedin as all the lightning magic was immediately expelled. My eyes widened slightly. Hedin had used a single Kokonoe for two spells: the first to empower the others, expending three tails, and the next six he used now. Impressive! I didn't know that was possible.
" Run through, carry the goddess' will - Gralineze Fromel." Allen had taken advantage of my blow, which had pushed him far enough away, to continue moving even further. I could see him in the distance, hundreds of meters away. His body was enveloped in a blue flash. His speed medallion was quickly consumed. Allen disappeared, leaving only a blue trail. He reappeared in front of me with just a flash of light.
The four attacks, Hildis Vini, Burn Dain, Varian Hildr, and Gralineze Fromel, collided with Rho Aias. The fifth and sixth layers were immediately destroyed. I maintained the seventh, I pushed large amounts of magic while resisting the blow, but still, my arm suffered damage.
Ultimately, Rho Aias was not strong enough to stop the three attacks; Rho Aias broke completely.
I sped up my thoughts to the maximum. I could see the four attacks approaching me. I had options: I could create portals and avoid the attacks, create another Rho Aias, or move fast enough to dodge it, but I just smiled and let the attacks hit me.
I felt my body being sliced in half by Ottar's sword as the other attacks tore me apart, yet I still smiled broadly. I saw Allen's triumphant face form before it transformed into shock as I began to regenerate before their eyes.
As my body was destroyed, it was immediately healed. By the time the attacks ended, my body was immaculate as if nothing had happened.
" Hati! Ariel! Hell Finegas! Gralineze Fromel! Hildis Vini!" I began reciting a series of enchantment and empowerment spells, one after another. I could feel my strength, speed, and more increasing dramatically, along with all my metals acting simultaneously. I projected Kanshou and Bakuya once more and moved.
Faster, stronger, and more agile than all of them, the four were able to react, but none were strong or fast enough to stop my attack. Hildis Vini was a one-hit enchantment, but when I could cast it instantly, my swords continued to receive the explosive boost constantly.
The first to fall was Hedin; as a melee mage, he couldn't do much. Next was Hogni, while Allen, though quick enough to slip away, was eventually overwhelmed. All three were wounded enough to be unable to participate in the fight, but they remained conscious.
Leaving Ottar alone in front of me. Ottar's defense was as impressive as they said; I couldn't get my swords to fully penetrate it, even when my strength was superior to his, and I was constantly forcing him back.
He was slowly leaving wounds all over her body, dozens of cuts all over her body, but it wouldn't stop him in the slightest.
So I finally stopped playing with the swords, my wings sprouted from my back, and lifted me into the sky. I let Hati consume all the magic from the enchantment spells. I molded Hati above my head before invoking Rea Laevateinn.
" Kokonoe! Rea Laevateinn!" 9 Rea Laevateinn appeared in the sky, enormous circles were stacked one on top of the other, hundreds of fire tornadoes began to descend with fiery fury before being absorbed by Hati. The enchantment magic began to grow ever stronger. I reshaped Hati.
I manipulated the raging flames as easily as if they were clay in my hands, created an arrow between my fingers, and extended it with the other. I aimed at Ottar while smiling maniacally.
The heat that Hati gave off was ridiculous; all the moisture had evaporated a long time ago. It far surpassed any fire magic it had available except for solar energy itself.
Ottar didn't even hesitate when he raised his sword and plunged it into the ground to defend himself. I released the arrow. Hati shot out in Ottar's direction. At the last instant, the arrow shifted slightly and narrowly missed Ottar.
All the Freya familia executives stared in confusion at Hati as it continued on its way, including Ottar, who looked back. Hati struck the ground before a huge sphere of fire formed, like a small sun consuming everything within it.
There was no explosion, no destruction, only Hati consuming everything inside, in a sphere hundreds of meters wide.
I laughed happily as I descended towards the Freya familia and smiled at them.
"I hope that was enough," I said cheerfully, approaching them all. " Dia Fratel." I gestured to everyone in front of me as I watched Riveria and the others approaching. I could see Riveria sighing wearily, Ais staring at me, and Freya approaching her former familia.
"You did wonderfully, my children. I'm so proud of you," Freya said with a gentle smile as she watched her children get up from the floor.
"We were the first to lose," said one of the Gulliver brothers, biting his lip. They had woken up midway through the Freya familia's final attack against my Rho Aias. Freya turned to look at him, smiling.
"And yet, you did incredibly well, and I'm sure you'll be able to improve even more." Freya said without hesitation, which made the Gulliver brothers blush slightly.
"You made me fail." Ottar said, staring at me. I shrugged.
"I didn't mean to kill them," I said easily, still gazing at the miniature sun consuming everything. I moved my hand and quickly extinguished it. A huge crater of scorched earth was all that remained.
I let the Light emerge from between my fingers and begin to heal the earth.
"It's different," Hedin said, staring intently at me. "That energy... that magic is different from what you used before. The previous one felt... bad. Now I can see what Freya-sama meant by unholy. It's the only way to describe it." Hedin said without hesitation, his gaze fixed on me. I raised a hand, summoned a small amount of demonic power, and held it in my hand.
"Demonic power is something innate in devils; all devils are born with it, to a greater or lesser degree." I said easily before clenching my fist and banishing the demonic power. I raised my other hand and let The Light flow from it. "And this is something entirely mine, a unique trait of mine, something I prefer to keep secret." I said as I erased all traces of Light.
"That doesn't matter." Allen grunted. "You copied all our techniques, and those of the Loki familia, Hell Finegas? Ariel? It's impossible not to recognize those enchantment magics." Allen grunted, and I nodded.
"And you're using my belongings against me," I said playfully. Everyone looked at their rings and bracelets with understanding. "Besides, my specialty is magic. I'm skilled enough to replicate any magic I see. I have much more, if that's what you want to see." I said, snapping my fingers. Thousands of magic circles and various spells appeared in the sky and covered everything around us, crackling with magic. I simply snapped my fingers again and made all the magic disappear.
"Don't worry, she did the same to us," Riveria said with a grimace. "She tends to use her hand-to-hand combat skills in training, or she'd be able to magically overwhelm anyone," Riveria said with a sigh.
"I can see it," Hedin said, adjusting his glasses, his eyes gleaming with intensity. "Not only competent in hand-to-hand combat and a magic specialist, but capable of healing from wounds so lethal they would have killed anyone else." Hedin said it with ease, and I chuckled softly.
"I'm not sorry, but it's the same thing Freya bestowed upon Horn, only taken to an even greater extreme." I said easily, while looking at Horn, who didn't even look at her rings. She just stared at me, without blinking.
"You are strong," Horn finally said, biting her lip hard. "You are capable of protecting our goddess." She conceded firmly. I chuckled.
"Thank you for your vote of confidence, but protecting isn't caring. If you want, you can come and take care of her yourself." I said easily. Horn's eyes opened wide, as did Freya's and the rest of the Freya familia's.
"R-really?" Horn stammered in surprise. Freya was just as surprised. I shrugged.
"I have no problem with that, although you'll have to wait at least two or three weeks before joining us. Freya and I have things to do before you can properly come, then we'll come and get you." I told her honestly. Horn trembled slightly before bowing.
"Thank you so much for letting me serve my goddess!" Horn said forcefully. I could see the rest of the Freya familia relax a bit as they sighed in relief. Freya smiled broadly at me.
"Don't worry, you're not a problem. There will be... some very strict rules you must follow, but it shouldn't be a problem," I said easily. Horn nodded quickly. I looked at Ottar. "On the other hand... you... It's more difficult." I said to Ottar with a grimace. "I'll have to think about it. I'm not promising anything," I told Ottar. He simply nodded.
"I'll be waiting. Freya-sama is the only goddess I will serve. I will come and do any test or request you make." Ottar said without hesitation. I sighed.
"Don't worry, I know," I said, making a face. "We should head back; we can talk more comfortably in Fólkvangr." I said as I created a portal: Aria began to shrink once again. She turned back into my clothes. I ignored the stares of the Freya familia. Well, it was time to meet the ancient Freya familia.
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Serena POV. 30 days after Bella joined Miach.
"Very well, your punishment is over." I said cheerfully as I reconfigured Bella's nervous system and undid the curse placed upon her. Bella just clicked her tongue.
"I'm still upset about that," Bella complained, raising an eyebrow in my direction. I scoffed.
"You brought it on yourself." I said dryly. Bella shrugged, not seeming at all sorry.
"Now, very well, you've just leveled up to level 2, getting a power boost, in your abilities and more, so I also thought I'd get the Volundr we were talking about." I said directly, Bellatrix's eyes gleaming slightly.
Bella had finally reached level 2. Killing the corrupted spirit on the 60th floor, along with Rebecca, had finally given her enough high-quality Excelia to level up, which she immediately took advantage of. After all, her stats had already surpassed SSS.
Strength - SSS 1695
Endurance - SSS 1712
Dexterity - SSS 1383
Agility - SSS 1332
Magic - SSS 1581
A ridiculous amount of stats for level 1, Bella had also had a large number of development Abilities, such as Hunter, Lancer, Mage, Spirit Healing, Healing Power, and Gunslinger.
The latter was something that had never been seen before; after all, pistols did not exist yet, but they were still able to register on the Falna, apparently; their effects were the same as those of a lancer or swordsman, increasing proficiency and strength with pistols.
Bella hadn't chosen one yet, but I was sure she would go for Hunter or Mage; the others didn't appeal to her enough.
"Finally!" Bella said happily, and I laughed slightly as I took out my phone.
"Do you still want Radgridr in a Cassul and Jackal version?" I asked directly, and Bella nodded.
"I'm definitely used to them and strangely attached to both weapons," Bella said honestly. I just nodded and started messaging the other contractor.
Radgridr (Hellsing Arms.454 Casull Automatic & Hellsing 13mm Anti-Freak Combat Pistol "Jackal" version.) [50 Credits] [445]
Once I finished the purchase, I quickly united Radgridr with Bella's soul, which shuddered as both pistols appeared in front of us. Bella grabbed them without hesitation, as usual, and quickly began to look at them closely.
"They feel almost alive," Bella said, looking at her new weapons. I looked at them closely, too.
"They have a soul." I pointed easily, and Bella nodded.
"Yes, I see them," Bella said easily. "But... she seems dull? Inactive?" she said, tilting her head. I nodded in agreement.
"It looks empty. Radgridr IS a Valkyrie who uses a special power to create an act known as Volundr, which binds the Valkyrie's soul to another person. The soul that has those weapons is definitely not Radgridr, but I guess it needed a soul to function, so an empty soul did the trick." I said, shrugging.
"I see, they won't come to life later on, will they?" Bella asked dryly. I shook my head.
"I don't think so. I mean, those guns might gain a little intelligence or some intent, but nothing intelligent enough to matter." I shrugged before wrinkling my nose. "But like this, however... primitive that soul is, I can't replicate it with my Reality Marble. I can't replicate or create souls, no matter how empty and primitive they are." I said ruefully. Bella just nodded before smiling broadly.
"Alright, let's see what they're made of." Bella said wildly. A circle appeared beneath us and teleported us into the dungeon, to the 62nd floor. A wave of monsters approached us almost instantly. Bella simply raised her twin weapons and began firing normally.
The normal shots seemed to have the same power as their old weapons; there was absolutely no difference. And as such, they barely scratched the monsters in front of us.
The monsters kept approaching us. Bella finally smiled wildly. I could hear her kidneys explode before she was consumed. I could see the magic crystallize Bella's pain and body into two bullets, one for each weapon.
She fired both at once.
Both bullets were fired simultaneously, resulting in a massive explosion that left the target. I could feel the power of both projectiles, but what was most striking was the demonic power of the bullets. It seemed our theory about the bullets being imbued with the body's natural energy was correct.
The bullets unleashed a tremendous amount of demonic power, finally exploding and scattering into countless projectiles as they continued to spin. Each projectile was powerful enough to kill a monster in its path.
In moments, there were hundreds of monsters slain before us. Bella simply smiled broadly, using her control over blood to absorb all the blood from the monsters in front of us.
"I love them," Bella said with a childlike smile.
"You used the same shot as Simo Hayha, with the same organ. Was it by chance, was it deliberate, or something else?" I asked curiously. Bella just shrugged.
"It seemed appropriate," Bella said easily. I just hummed.
"Can you only use the same shots Simo uses, or can you use something else?" I asked curiously. Bella shrugged, raised Jackal, and aimed at the next group of monsters. I could see that Bella didn't even hesitate when she sacrificed her heart.
My eyes snapped open at the powerful burst of magic and power that erupted from that sacrifice; it was exponentially greater than the previous shot. The created bullet charged into Jackal; the sheer amount of magic and demonic power contained within that projectile seemed to distort the space around him.
Then Bella fired without any care. The bullet's magic exploded immediately; the enormous speed at which it was fired meant it reached the monsters in an instant, and everything around it. The area of attack was larger and more destructive than the previous bullet, but instead of stopping at a point, it continued on its way.
The floor was enormous, but the bullet continued its path without stopping, killing everything in its path. It finally hit the dungeon wall, and not even that stopped it.
The bullet pierced, shattered, and shook the entire dungeon wall before finally exploding. The whole dungeon floor trembled as a huge hole appeared in the wall, ceiling, and floor of the destroyed dungeon.
I stared in disbelief at the destruction that the bullet had caused. I almost grimaced when the dungeon itself seemed to tremble and scream with fury, and a huge monster began to emerge from the wall with a roar. A Juggernaut had appeared. I nearly snorted, about to move, when I heard Bella fire again.
The same bullet, crafted from another heart, shot out of Jackal, pierced the floor once more, and struck the Juggernaut head-on. The Juggernaut was supposed to be highly resistant to magic, and indeed it was; it withstood the bullet while being thrown back dozens of meters.
But the bullet finally broke through its defenses, pierced the Juggernaut, and exploded again. A second, enormous hole appeared next to the first as I stared in disbelief at the extent of the damage.
"HAHAHAHAHA! YES!!" Bella shouted wildly. I could see her raise both pistols, but before she could fire, I teleported us both out of the dungeon, to the outskirts of Orario, while leaving a small spell to monitor the floor.
I didn't want Bella to keep indiscriminately destroying the dungeon; who knew what kind of monsters she might summon if it continued to be destroyed? But the damage was already done. I didn't want the dungeon to summon a dozen Juggernauts and have them go to the upper floors and kill everyone, so I left something to monitor it.
"Party pooper." Bella pouted, and I glared at her.
"I try not to provoke the great unknown and malevolent entity." I snorted dryly; Bella just shrugged. I sighed.
"Let's keep testing the weapon. Using vital organs works, but please, don't you dare try it with your brain," I said curtly. Bella just smiled at me shamelessly. "Can you... Use organs from other souls? Or directly use the souls of other monsters?"
So we kept testing every combination we could find. Bella could do a lot with her new guns. The organ she sacrificed had absolutely nothing to do with the bullet's effect; Bella could change its effects however she wanted. The only thing that changed was its power.
The more vital the organ, the more powerful it was. She could sacrifice multiple organs simultaneously to enhance a single bullet, multiplying its potency. And most importantly, the organs themselves didn't define the bullet; only the energy base through sacrifice was used to create it. Bella could manipulate the bullet's composition to a certain extent, sacrificing strength for speed, or both for area of effect, or all three to impart a specific effect.
And by effects, I only meant fairly simple things with normal bullets; she could make them explode, have the bullet track targets, and similar things, but she couldn't put a curse on her bullet to make it act on its own.
But what did work was that the different souls and their organs could cause the bullets to inherit properties from their wielders. Bella's bullets were filled with demonic power. Bullets made with supernatural animals gained certain elemental properties and more.
Bella had only just scratched the surface of what Volundr could achieve; I was sure she could do much more once she got used to it.
"You know, maybe you should get that gunslinger development Abilities; if it can further enhance your Volundr, that would be good." I said distractedly, Bella's eyes shining brightly.
Hours later, we finally finished testing everything we could. I could feel Riveria and GLaDOS above my head looking at all the results and giving their own ideas, but after several hours, it was time to end this.
And with that done, there really was no reason to stay in Orario. I messaged everyone else; it was time to head back to Night City.
Author's Notes: Okay, long chapter, but we're finally done with the Danmachi part! I don't think it'll be the central part of another arc, though. Maybe there'll be a glimpse later on, like from Bella's or Riveria's POV, or a quick visit, or something like that, but now it's time to focus on Night City before returning to DxD and the wizarding world.
Now, should I add Ottar? I already mentioned him, but the idea of Ottar as a knight or pawn, with Kratos's template and all his weapons, is really nagging at me.