"Another Longinus." My father spoke as I entered the gallery.
"Yes. We got really lucky." I smiled, and came to a stop beside him, in front of the great portrait of my great grandfather Razen.
"Yes." He narrowed his eyes, frowning suspiciously, "Very lucky."
What's with the frown? Does he suspect something? Foul play maybe? Wasn't my alibi ironclad? Didn't Ruval confirm my statements?
Has he found out some other way?
But even as I worried internally, I kept a poker face, and a beat passed in silence.
Then he broke it.
"Do you know why I so readily gave ear to your ideas?" He turned to me, and I shrugged.
"Because they are good?"
He did not respond.
"Traditionally, second and third sons have little say in the running of the family. They are more akin to the branch family than anything else." He said, turning back to the portrait, "But my father was different. Your great grandfather, too, was different. You may not know this, but I wasn't the heir to the clan. I was the second son of your grandfather."
I realized.
Oh, this is another one of my father's impromptu lessons on realpolitik. Or is it history this time? Knowing him, it's probably both.
And here I was, having a Dexter Morgan meltdown.
"When the civil war came, there was much, furious debate on which side we should join. Everyone had an opinion, an incentive. All forces wanted an in with us. Not only did we have twenty eight legions, we were also a constant stream of healing. Our Phoenix Tears.
They bribed the branch family, our legionnaires, officers. Gifts flowed freely in those early days, in the prelude to the war. My grandfather was torn between the choices.
We owed our allegiance to the Old Satan faction, and they had a Super Devil among them- Rizevim Livan Lucifer."
I raised a curious eyebrow and my father smiled.
"We didn't yet know of Ajuka and Sirzechs' capabilities. You must remember, they were teenagers then. Barely anyone knew them, much less what they could do. Back then, there was only one Super Devil in the Underworld and it was the heir of Lucifer."
"For all we knew, they had overwhelming superiority in terms of numbers and Zekram, the clever bastard, hid his true allegiances till the very last moments, playing both sides as he built up his forces, shored up alliances among what is today the Great King faction.
In that cloud of uncertainty, as we stood upon the brink of destruction, I spoke up for the first time in my life." My father said, his voice tinged with nostalgic sadness.
"I suggested neutrality. Sell to both sides, profit from the war, and at no risk to ourselves. We had the legions and the power to defend ourselves. If they attacked us, they'd have to risk a pyrrhic victory and at what cost?
No one would be fool enough to waste their resources on us, when there was a far greater enemy to be held off. Even more so, in fear of offending the only healers in the underworld. We had a monopoly then, on healing, on medicine.
Not only because I wanted to profit us, but also, because I wanted to preserve us. Our family.
We are not as immortal as we seem.
There are many ways to kill a Phenex. And we are so few. When you are immortal, you come to cherish the family you have, for only they will stick around with you for the rest of eternity.
And trust me Riser, eternity is too long to be spent all alone."
I nodded.
"I'm guessing they listened to you?"
He smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Yes. Even though I was the second son, even though it was tradition that the decision lay with the head of the clan, or even the heir, they listened to me. They gave ear to my words and ideas.
And we prospered. My status rose within the clan.
I wasn't thought of very well, in those days, before then. A scheming little snake. I wanted to usurp my brother's position.
I was jealous of him, I will not lie. But I did not intend-" He caught his breath with a pained hiss.
"Perhaps I should explain in chronological order." He calmed himself as he continued.
"As I was saying. We prospered. My status within the clan rose. More so when they saw the devastation it wrought upon other clans. More than thirty clans gone extinct. Millions dead in the mere first volley. Vast swathes of the underworld laid to waste. The Great King house of Belial laid low.
They realized the horror I had saved them from and they were grateful. I even had a match made, with your mother of all people, where before I was betrothed to some Adromalius girl halfway across the underworld in a political marriage.
It helped that their house was wiped off the face of the underworld in the war." He chuckled, "She wasn't a particularly pleasant match."
"All was going well, and I drowned myself in that glory. I gloated, I cheered. I was pride incarnate.
And my older brother, the heir… he grew discontent. Envious. He had been one of the earliest proponents for war and he did not sit still lightly, in the light of my success.
If he couldn't go to war, he would at the very least go into business. He would outshine me. So when a suspiciously large order came from the Old Satan faction… I rejected it.
They wanted us to bring a huge batch of Phoenix Tears, straight into the desolate heart of their territory instead of sending someone over to us to pick it up, as I had declared in the terms of our neutrality.
A blind man could tell it was a trap from a mile away. But my brother… he ignored me. He was a fool." My father winced at the thought, "And so was I. A blind fool, to miss those signs."
"Dad?" I put a hand against his own and he took it gently, squeezing my hand.
"I was so busy trying to be better than him that I was blind to his pain. I closed my heart to it. I let him go. Knowing…knowing!" A tear welled up in his eye, and steamed away as it travelled down his cheek.
"They sprung the trap. He was captured and held for ransom. But much like the Americans, we do not negotiate with terrorists. It would undermine our legitimacy and neutrality."
"But we don't leave our family behind!" I almost shouted in riposte and he smiled the faintest bit.
"Yes. We do not. So your great grandfather, granduncles and grandfather… they took off with twenty of our legions to rescue him. And they succeeded. He returned. Alone. And broken."
He pressed the plaque below the portrait and smeared a drop of his blood across it. The writing on the plaque began to glow, as magic scripts activated and it popped out.
Inside, was a drawer, and within it an obsidian box, seamless and sealed with magic.
"Your great grandfather Razen's ashes." He said, "The Leviathan clan returned them to us after the war. It was all they could recover. That day we lost a lot more than just 20 legions. We lost something that couldn't be replaced. Family."
"The death of your uncle, your grandfather and great grandfather, constitute the single greatest tragedy of my life, and of our clan's history." His voice cracked a little as he spoke, like a man broken by the weight of his sins, "And it was all my fault."
I tried to speak but he shushed me.
"My brother was never the same. He blamed himself too. He never forgave himself. He stopped eating and sleeping and… he wasted away. One of the few ways we can die. He gave up on living.
That was how I became the clan leader, by stepping upon the bodies of our kith and kin, by painting my path in their blood.
Your aunt Rosalind never forgave me for it. And she has never loved anyone since."
"Doesn't she have a harem of boytoys?" I asked.
She was rather famous, being the only one who never came to our birthdays or clan celebrations.
"There is a difference between love and- you'll understand when you're older." He sighed as he spoke.
"All this to say… The guilt I feel, the mistakes I have made, I hope to avoid having you repeat them. So if you wish to be the heir… just say the word, Riser and I will-"
"I would never, in a thousand years dream of usurping my brother's throne. You know me dad. How could you-?!" I was horrified at the implication.
That I would betray my own brother. That I would try-
"I know." He sighed in relief, "But I had to make sure. You understand right?"
I nodded.
Having two Longinus users in my peerage… he must have felt the threat to my brother's position. It is understandable.
I chuckled.
"People really are the sum of their regrets, huh?"
"You know Riser, when you say things like this, I have a hard time believing you're just ten."
He smiled as he ran a hand through my hair, patting my head.
"You're better than me, Riser. Or maybe you have higher aspirations, that the clan head position does not entice you. I have not missed the ambition in your eyes. You want to be a Satan. Or a demon god perhaps?"
"You knew?" My eyes widened in surprise. I hadn't shared the plans for my ascension with anyone.
"Of course I knew. You're my son, Riser. I know that you would never settle for Satan.
That and the suspiciously large number of your spells that tread the very edge of divine authority. Clearly, you plan on crossing that boundary at some point. I just wanted to make sure your road didn't tear through your brother's heart."
"It doesn't." I put that thought to an end with finality, "It never will."
He nodded proudly.
"How do you plan to achieve that? Divinity, that is. I assume you intend to usurp the Authority of Hell in our pantheon that Lucifer left unclaimed?" He asked, "Because if you need worship… we have the entire nation of Zimbabwe to ourselves for the next twenty years. All it's people… if you need sacrifices, they are a small price to pay."
"No. Nothing of the sort. Not only would it sour my relationship with Dulio, it would also alert the church and every other interested party too soon of our plans. I have a much better idea."
"And what would that be?"
"You know how the Sitri have their show about magical girls?"
"Oh." He realized.
I grinned.
"Mass media is a gateway to many opportunities."
"What will you call it?" He asked.
"Phoenix Kamen." I replied, "A twelve step plan to divinity. But that is for later. For now, I have spells to develop, powers to master and grow, peerage members to recruit.
I'm even working on a spell to obscure us from Flame Divination, among others, so our own spell cannot be used against us. But again, it's all in the future."
"Very well. Keep your secrets." He nodded and smiled, "But remember, you can rely on us."
"I will."
"Oh! And don't glare at your mother like that." He bonked my head with a rolled up wad of papers he pulled out of thin air, as he shut away my great grandfather's ashes back behind the plaque, closing the mechanism and sealing it away once more.
"She's trying to help you get with the new girl. You may be betrothed to Rias, but as a noble, you know you can have a harem, yes?"
"Yes?"
"Love is a great bond, to chain that Longinus to us. Use it." He advised.
"Obviously." I was insulted he thought I needed to be reminded of something so basic.
"Here." He handed me the thin roll of papers, "This is all I could find about the Malebranche."
I took the papers off his hand and skimmed through them quickly.
I had asked him to look into the Malebranche, the twelve Evil Claws, the Satanic Arms, the devil version of the Longinus, for many reasons, chief among which was their ability to induce something similar to the Beast Of Sin form I wanted to achieve using my Sin theory.
Of course, their version was fatal for most. A last resort. Their version of a sacred gear's balance breaker. But it held all the advantages I wanted to recreate.
And, as Phenex, with our immortality, we were the only ones who could use it without dying.
"This is practically nothing. Third hand accounts, legends, theories that are blatantly bullshit…" I frowned. I had little knowledge of the plot proper, knowing of them only from the wiki and from fanfics.
"I know. But there is one conclusive proof we managed to find, one truth we uncovered."
"Which is?"
"The Malebranche are not sealed under Lucifaad as the official sources claim."
I knew that much. They were in possession of Zaorama Nebiros.
What I didn't know was where?
I knew he had a lab in the wastelands where he hid after faking his death. But the wastelands are huge and locating his lab would be like finding a needle in a haystack, if that needle was warded to holy hell against divination.
I had hoped to find at least a few clues as to where they were taken, but no such luck it seems.
The bastard was smart. Too damn smart.
He hid like a rat in the sewers.
"Tch!" I clicked my tongue in frustration, "Why would anything ever be this simple?"
"Patience Riser. We will find it. They cannot hide forever. These are living weapons. They will get restless eventually and surface. And we will be waiting to catch them. You only need one, yes? Draghignazzo and Scarmiglione are especially volatile."
Draghignazzo. Yes. I remember that one from the newest novels. Junior DXD.
Draghignazzo will surface sometime in the next eight years somewhere in Europe. It will raze down and slaughter a small town or village where the inheritor of D'Artagnan lives. She should be two now and at some point, before she turns fourteen, he will kill her parents and corrupt her sacred gear.
This will lead to her joining the Hero Faction in search of revenge, eventually being cleansed by Issei or Zekka using one of their signature breast magics. I don't remember. I only read the summary of the book on reddit, in passing.
Beyond that I know nothing. Not even her name or what her sacred gear does. I have my guesses, but those will have to wait till the Hero Faction forms in ten years' time. Unless I can intercept her first?
Evil dragon attacks are rare… it shouldn't be difficult to locate, now that my father too has an eye out for it.
Alright.
"In the meantime, you can work on your spells." My father patted my back, "Which reminds me. I talked to Surtr The Second, and the Gremorys. They have agreed to let you witness his flames at Rias' birthday next month."
"Oh, right. That is coming up too." I sighed in annoyance, "When will I ever have free time to enjoy my childhood?"
My father laughed.
"Hahahahaha!" He slapped my shoulders, and teased, "Who told you to take on so many burdens at so young an age?"
.....
I am back! And I am finally fully recovered.
Nasty fever that one. Laid me down thick for four days straight.
Thanks for waiting y'all.
Here's the chappy I promised. A bit late, but better late than never.
Tell me what you think of it?
One more coming. Writing it now.
Thanks for reading. Merry Christmas!
Don't forget to donate your powerstones!
Bye~