-----Lilu Flauros-----
And with that, we're returned to the Training Field right as rain.
Although, Riser looks a little peeved. I guess having Light Magic forcibly pumped into you until it fries you would make anyone mad. Meh, jackass had it coming.
"Did Riser perhaps do something to upset you Lord Flauros? That final attack of your felt deliberately callous on your part." Riser asks in a neutral tone.
"As you know, I possess a Dragon-type Sacred Gear. Multiple Dragon-type Sacred Gears actually. It is a known phenomena that those who possess Dragon-type Sacred Gears take on Draconic aspects, such as a fierce jealousy regarding their treasure hoard."
"Now, what exactly a Dragon considers to be his or her definition of 'treasure' varies from Dragon to Dragon. It could be anything that could feasibly assigned value. For most it's the standard fair of gold and jewels. For others it's priceless relics and/or works of art. For others it's magical artifacts or tomes. Or in my case, it's my harem."
"A word to the wise, attempting to lay hands on a Dragon's 'Treasure' is an extremely bad idea. This is true of those who possess Dragon-type Sacred Gears as well. It is ill-advised to try and come between a Dragon and its treasure, nor should you carelessly try to snatch the treasure of a Draconic Sacred Gear. To back a beast into a corner is to draw forth the full might of its viciousness and fury. To back a Dragon into a corner? I'll let you paint that particular picture in your own mind."
-----Riser Phenex-----
Well, that's certainly a frightening prospect. Coming between a Draconic Sacred Gear owner and whatever they value is equivalent to backing a Dragon into a corner? I'll keep that in mind. Then again, how often am I likely to run into someone like that and antagonize them in such a manner?
-----Issei Hyoudou-----
"Achoo! Hmm, is a beautiful woman thinking about me? Hmm, nah. Feels like some douchebag is talking smack about me. Bastard."
-----Riser Phenex-----
"Achoo! Hmm, it feels like someone's talking shit about Riser... Don't ever let Riser find you or Riser will burn you alive." I mutter to myself. Meanwhile, Lilu seems to have a contemplative look on his face. I wonder what that's all about? Meh, probably not important.
"Riser concedes to the wisdom of Lord Flauros."
"Okay, that's getting kind of annoying. You can call me Lilu. We are friends, right?"
"Very well Lilu. By the way, Riser has a proposition to run past you. Riser was notified about the temporal acceleration that takes place within your Dungeon and couldn't help but be impressed. Riser understands the source of your sudden burst in strength as exploiting the accelerated time within the Dungeon to train more. Have you considered allowing others to take advantage of and monetizing time slots to train in your Dungeons? Having so much extra time to train would be rather valuable to those in the Rating Game scene for any Peerages looking to go competitive."
"Hmm, I hadn't really considered granting others access to my Dungeons for the purposes of using accelerated time to train more, but I can see how the big name Peerages would be willing to shell out some nice cash for the opportunities that it presents. And you're right that I've been exploiting the shit out of the accelerated time to get in months worth of training in a little under two weeks."
"Actually, I had something else in mind regarding access to my Dungeons for training purposes, but I need some time to do some work on that front as well as get in some proper training with my Necromancy. Maybe a week or two of external time and it would be ready for a test run. Once I get it up and running, I'd appreciate it if you and and your Peerage would come back for a trial run."
"Oh? You had another idea in mind for your Dungeons? Riser is curious, would you be willing to tell Riser?"
"Sure, why not? Are you familiar with video games, RPG's and the like? You make a character, go in, kill monsters, get loot, level up, all that stuff."
"Riser is somewhat familiar with the concept, yes."
"Well, I happen to be a big fan of games like that, and I had a thought. 'Can I use my [All World's Creation] to create a Dungeon, or series of Dungeons, that functions under video game logic as a means of quickly acquiring power? And can any results of power gained in such Dungeons be retained outside of my domain?' So far, initial results are quite promising, but I need to conduct a few more tests here and there. Once I've got a stable test platform set up, I'd like any members of your Peerage who're interested to effectively beta-test it for me."
Hearing of Lilu's plan, I'm stunned speechless. It seems that I'm not alone as a quick glance at the members of my Peerage that I can see indicates that they more or less understand the ramifications of Lilu's plan. Having an extended training period through time dilation is already tantalizing as is, but a means of acquiring an all around increase in power through undergoing game-like experiences?
That's- Nobles would offer their Heirs as tribute to Lilu for something like that if it works the way he intends for it to work. Everyone knows that facing a Flauros inside of their range is a bad idea due to the fact that they can make themselves on par with the Satan's within their range, but the biggest weakness of their magic is the fact that any benefits bestowed within the range of their Magic only applies within that range.
Theoretically, what Lilu's proposing shouldn't be possible using just the Flauros Bloodline Magic. He's got something else up his sleeve. I can't think of what it would be though. None of the other Bloodline Magics he should have access to suggest any means of permanently empowering others in the manner he's describing.
Wait, I remember sensing the presence of a Sacred Gear on him back at the nightclub a while back. He already claimed to have stolen the Vritra-type Sacred Gears from their rightful owners, so it's not that. But he never actually said anything about his original Sacred Gear. And given the disparity of power between it and the Vritra-type Gears, I'm almost certain that Lilu's got a Longinus-class Sacred Gear1Considering the prices and capabilities of most of the CYOA Sacred Gears were 20DP and that the CYOA gave the option to shell out an extra 20DP for a Longinus-class Sacred Gear, and the fact that [Kaleidoscope] cost 40DP, I'm operating under the assumption that [Kaleidoscope] is a Longinus-Class Sacred Gear., but I've never heard of a Longinus Gear that can achieve what Lilu's suggesting either.
Although, I have heard of the phenomena that arises when a Sacred Gear evolves and develops new capabilities in response to the will and desire of its owner. Could he have achieved a Balance Breaker that enables this possibility? I should double-check the library when I get home.
-----Lilu Flauros-----
After talking a bit more and agreeing to hang out and arrange for some inter-Peerage training sessions from time to time, I get to work. I can't be completely certain that the bonuses of applying the rule of [The Gamer System] to empower others without the system are truly permanent.
I can't rely on just throwing my Peerage members into a Dungeon and letting them test it out due to the connection formed by [Harem Love] and the fact that Sara's been exploiting that connection to steadily empower them anyway. I need fresh test subjects that I'm not connected to in any way in order to confirm whether or not my plan is viable.
I could reach out to Rias and ask her to do it, but we don't really have any sort of history between us to justify me hitting her up out of the blue. I could try reaching out to Sona through Serafall, but I don't think Serafall would risk Sona's safety testing experimental magic like this. Hmm... Oh, duh. I can call them in.
-----Azazel-----
Kicking back in my house in Kuoh while dodging paperwork like I normally do, I'm mildly surprised to hear my phone ringing all of a sudden. It's not the phone I use to get in touch with my fellow Cadres, they'd be able to track me down with that. No, a small select handful of people have access to this number, or even know that this phone exists.
Checking the Caller ID, I'm pleasantly surprised to see that it's none other than Lilu Flauros. This oughta be interesting if nothing else. Never a dull moment with that little hell-spawn.
"Lil' U! How's my favorite nephew doing and what can your cool, badass Uncle Azazel do for you?"
"Really? You're still calling me that? That name sounds like something some punk-ass 1o year old wanna-be rapper would use as a handle. If you ever call me that again, I'm snitching to Shemhazai about your little man-cave in Kuoh."
Shit, he'd really do it too. Little punk. "I take it this isn't just a social call then? I know how much you hate calling people unless it's important you anti-social brat."
"Yeah, I got a couple things I need from you. I need to borrow Team Raynare, minus Dohnaseek because he's an asshole for some experiments. Oh, and I need that Gender Bender Ray that you told Shemhazai that you destroyed but we both know you thought it was too damn funny to do away with it so you hid it at your human residence."
"What sort of 'experiments' do you need three beautiful female Fallen Angels for? Besides just fucking them, obviously. And I have no idea what you're talking about regarding the GBR."
Then I hear a ringing tone coming through the phone. "Lilu? What's the matter? Azazel do something stupid again?" Comes the voice of none other than Shemhazai. Shit!
"Now now Lilu, about the item you requested? I can have it ready to go in 3 minutes."
"Oh, sorry Uncle Shem. Accidentally pushed the wrong number. I haven't spoken to Uncle Az-hole in a while." The fuck did he just call me?
"Pfthahaha! 'Uncle Az-hole! Oh that never gets old!" Shemhazai starts laughing his ass off and I hear the distinct tone of Baraqiel laughing his ass off as well! Bastards!
"Oh well, have a good day Lilu. If 'Uncle Az-hole' does get in touch with you, tell him that he's got a mountain of paperwork waiting for him and that if I ever find that hidey hole of his, I will burn it to the ground along with his porn stash." He wouldn't dare... Yes he would.
"Don't worry. I'll let him know. Have a good day." Lilu then hangs up on Shemhazai. "So, '3 minutes' was it?" Brat.
"Yeah, it's on its way. Also, I'm guessing you want Team Raynare, minus Dohnaseek, to come to your place in The Underworld? That's gonna be a toughie."
"Send them to my old place in America, I'll take them from there."
"Gotcha. By the way, about your parents... I heard about what happened. I just want you to know that we had nothing to do with that, and that if we find the bastards responsible, they're going to die slow." I finish that last part with a level of seriousness that I haven't spoken in since I led the legions of the Grigori against the forces of Heaven and Hell.
I know that Lilu treats me like a cool uncle and I treat him like a favorite nephew, but the truth is a bit more complicated than that. See, Lilu's mother's name was Anastasia 'Audry' Saunders. Technically, she wasn't a Pure-blooded Fallen Angel. She was actually only part Fallen Angel, with some Devil lineage in her as well.
However, it seems that when her magic awakened, she underwent something similar to Atavism that favored her Fallen Angel lineage more than her Devil lineage to the point that only the faintest whisper of her Devil magic remained. Due to Atavistic Regression, the potency of her Fallen Angel blood was so thick that most people confused her for a Pure-blooded Fallen Angel. Only I and a handful of my closest confidants knew the truth.
Her mother was Anastariel, one of my own Daughters that I fathered with a Human woman. Anastariel was raped by a descendant of the Andras Clan during the Great War and, out of shame, went into hiding. Eventually, she settled in the Human world and lived a quiet life for a couple thousand years before she made an astonishing discovery.
Apparently, she was pregnant with the child of the Devil who raped her, but something peculiar had happened. Her magic had basically frozen the embryo before it could develop much due to the subconscious rejection she felt towards the Devil in question, but also subconsciously, she'd always had a soft spot for children and yearned to be a mother.
This contradiction led to her suspending the embryo's development in her womb for thousands of years, positively saturating it with her mana and "purifying" the Devil Blood within her. This had the unexpected side effect of suppressing her Fallen heritage as well for some time, but that was unknown to Anastariel at the time.
Upon finally realizing her pregnancy, she chose to release the suspension and allow the development of her child to take place unimpeded. It surprised her to find no traces of either Devil or Fallen heritage, but she loved her daughter regardless. Unfortunately, Anastariel fell victim to a plot by the Old Satan's and was assassinated when Anastasia was a young girl.
This led to Anastasia being adopted into the Saunders family and she was raised as a Human with no knowledge of the supernatural. Eventually, she grew to be a lovely young woman and married into a decent family, except her husband turned out to be a neglectful scumbag who stole every last penny in the divorce while he ran off with some barely-legal hooker.
Shortly after this, the soul-crushing despair led to her latent power awakening and due to the purification of her bloodline from her mother's womb, she underwent Atavism and became like 99% Fallen Angel. Anyways, she spent some time wandering the world at that point after cursing her ex-husband with misfortune, and eventually ran into Asmodel Flauros.
At first, neither of them was aware of each other's identity as supernatural beings and they became fast friends. Eventually they became lover's, but then things came to a head when both of them revealed their supernatural nature to each other out a sense of guilt for keeping such things secret from one another.
At first, they were both shocked to find themselves to have been secretly dating their "natural enemies", but then they decided "meh, not our problem" and they ultimately got married. Then Lilu came along as a result of their "hard work". I'd hoped that their existence would help to lay the groundwork for bringing about an official end to the Great Biblical War, but...
Hah. It seems things won't be that easy. Still, I'm curious as to what Lilu's plan for Raynare and her team is. I'm sure I'll find out soon enough. In the meantime, I really should investigate where that damn Sacred Gear Extractor fucked off to. It's pretty concerning that one of those, along with the instruction manual for the "extraction ritual" just went missing all of a sudden.
Oh well, I'm sure it'll turn up eventually.