Dungeons and Devils (Chapter 36) (Patreon)

I look to the smaller girl sitting across from me, much happier looking, she is no longer muddy and wet, her light blue hair gleams as she quietly nibbles on a sandwich.

"This is SO good!" She chirps.

I look over to Serafall who is also eating a sandwich, about as cheerfully as the Fey.

I sort of hate that I had to leave Sona for this.

Of course, she understood... in fact she freaked out a little bit that THE lady of the lake was in Kuoh. She also understood the significance of the fact that a Fey was out of their own little world. So, she excused herself from the situation.

"So... miss lady of the lake." I begin slowly, mildly annoyed at the fact that instead of actually doing anything, the two women have been eating for the past ten minutes. "Why are you here... exactly?"

"Huh?" The blue haired fairy blinks owlishly, she seemingly has lost all recollection of why she has come to pester me.

"Oh!" She gasps eyes widening.

Her happy expression falls as she pouts at me. "You took my Caledfwlch... you stole it from me! You made all my friends call me names because you actually enchanted it and didn't let a couple of IDIOTS to take it elsewhere because they were going to 'Enchant it later'. UGH!"

"To be fair." I point out lazily with a small wave of my hand. "You left Caledfwlch in a hole for fifteen hundred years. Is it really yours at that point? At what point does it stop being stealing and becomes archeology?"

"It's still mine!" The girl protests while kicking her feet in annoyance. "I left it in that hole for a reason!"

"Did you?" I question with a raised eyebrow.

"Y-Yes?" She weakly replies, slightly hunching over, making her look even smaller than she actually is.

"What's the reason." I ask with a bored tone as I look over the fairy, propping my head up with a fist.

"Uh... why... would I... uh... tell you... that?" She whispers while staring directly at the floor.

I allow an awkward silence to linger in the air as I quietly sip a glass of white apple cider.

I'm getting incredibly good at reading people the higher and higher my sense motive and perception skills go... This girl is either a fucking idiot... or by far the most manipulative, cunning, and devious motherfucker I have ever seen, far surpassing any and all devils, hell even lucifer himself.

It's totally the first one, isn't it?

"So what?" I ask. "You walk in here and demand the sword back? Offering nothing at all in compensation for the blood sweat and tears I poured out over the forge in order to get that shattered blade functional again? I will admit that your enchantment to allow further enchantments was a masterpiece. Enough to permanently alter how I enchant anything... however, I improved the original enchantment by fifty percent, that work of art is by all means my own-"

The girl's head snaps up abruptly, eyes wide. "FIFTY PERCENT?!"

Her hands shake slightly as she lets out a hoarse whisper. "Excalibur was only twenty five percent better..."

'Excalibur is only a plus twenty-five? Hm. Maybe she just had better enchantments in general compared to my numerous ones.

She lets out a weak groan as she brings her hands to her face. "I'm a hack. Nooo. How are YOU so much better than me?! I hate it!"

Her shoulders shake as she sniffles slightly, her hands falling limply by her side.

I rub my temples as I lean back in my chair.

"I-I... relinquish Caledfwlch to you... y-you're the better smith. I-I should probably leave now."

"Wait." I command suddenly. "You are going to give up... just like that?"

"I... didn't prepare anything to exchange for Caledfwlch and you improved it far beyond my abilities... I should just accept that you are a better smith than I am."

"Well, I mean, that's just flat out wrong. I will never be able to duplicate another blade as strong as Caledfwlch. Without Caledfwlch as the base the best I could manage is around seventy five percent of the power of the original sword's power."

"Really?" She whispers, wiping away the tears steadily forming at the corners of her eyes.

"Really." I nod. "But... even if you are a better smith than me, I cannot give you Caledfwlch."

"I... understand." The girl sighs her eyes narrowing slightly as a pout returns to her face. "But... you... you ruined my image! I was supposed to be THE best crafter in the world! Second only to God! T-then some devil came along and beat me in mere MONTHS! You have to take responsibility!"

"Oh? And how exactly would I do that?" I ask with a raised eyebrow, tapping my fingers on my nice desk.

She obviously hadn't thought of that so she silently stares at the wall for a few seconds.

"You... should... Marry me!" The fey proclaims, head snapping back to me as she points dramatically at me.

Serafall who had been content to watch our interaction silently freezes in place, mouth open as she pauses mid-bite.

"Wait wh-"

Serafall grabs my arm. "Please excuse us for a moment, I must chat with Gaius about something. Please enjoy the sandwiches and drink while we are gone."

The woman quickly tugs me out of the room... into the closet-slash-walk-in-filing room

The door closes behind us and renders us both in darkness.

Serafall turns on the light and places a silence spell on the room.

"I was originally just going to watch and see what happens... just to see how you handled meeting with another faction. But uhhhh this sort of forced my hand just a little?"

"You want me to marry-"

"You should marry her." The Satan declares, cutting me off.

"Alright. Yeah." I slowly nod. "I see the benefit to that. She's pretty, she is an incredible smith, and the fey have been secluded for a while, right? You want to use this as an opportunity to forge an alliance between our races, yeah?"

"Exactly." The Satan nods. "The Fey faction left the mortal world around fifteen hundred years ago because the church kidnapped a few fairy blacksmiths to fix the recently broken Excalibur after that girl in the other room for some reason refused to fix it. They never managed to put the pieces together, but they did manage to create their own blades out of each fragment."

"Jeez. The church... again? I get that the older devils are evil bastards but like, are we sure the church isn't the bad guy of our little Christian trio?"

I cup my chin suddenly. "Actually, I wonder if they even managed to collect all the pieces of Excalibur from the battlefield... the larger ones, sure, but they might have left behind a couple bits and pieces not large enough to forge into a sword. I'll check it out later."

'could... I make the eighth fragment of Excalibur?'

"But yes, if marrying the lady of the lake means our factions may just come together, I'll do it... just keep in mind if she asks for me to go back to her world, I'm going to refuse."

"Oh, absolutely. You are far too important to just allow you to disappear into the fey wilds." The woman nods as she turns the lights back off, cancels the silence spell, then opens the door.

I walk out of the closet to see the short blue haired fairy nibbling on more sandwiches.

"So... you want to marry me?" I question idly.

"Yes." The girl nods as she finishes the last few bites. "You have defiled my work! Now you must defile my body."

Serafall and I share a silent glance.

"Is... that how it works?" I ask as I turn back to the fairy.

"Yes." The girl nods.

"I see." I slowly state as I scratch my chin. "If you're just going to flat out ask me to marry you, I suppose I'll agree to it. But the main problem is that I don't know you. I don't know what you like, I don't know your favorite color... I don't even know your name. But I suppose that can change overtime. It'd be nice to have someone with me in the forge. none of my current peerage nor my current two fiancées really enjoy smithing as much as I do."

She gazes at the wall with her eyes sparkling, a healthy blush on her face, seemingly daydreaming about making swords together.

She flinches as she realizes something. "O-Oh! Right you don't even know my name!"

She blushes as she brings her hands to her face. "And here I was daydreaming."

She smiles brightly at me, her eyes closed. "My name is Viviane, but you, dearest, may call me Vivi."

She kicks her feet off the edge of the seat she is sat in, her feet don't quite make it to the floor as she grins innocently. "Oh! I can't wait! This is wondrous! Our wedding shall be a true spectacle!"

"Shall we return to the fey wilds, then dearest?" The small fairy asks. "I can't wait to rub you in the faces of those hussies!"

"That's the problem... I don't want to leave... my home... nor my friends and family."

The fey pauses for a moment then lets out a hoarse whisper. "Oh."

"Oh right." She continues quietly. "You... do have a family. But..."

She frowns at the floor.

"Why don't you stay with me?" I suggest.

"Hmmm." The fairy hums. "I... the church would probably come for me."

"You're afraid of the church yet you casually walked into the town that is owned by not only myself but the two younger siblings of two of the leaders of our faction?"

She opens her mouth to respond but swiftly closes it. She opens her mouth again a moment later.

"Oh... oh shit."

"Exactly." I nod.

"Ohhhhh noooo" She whispers as she clutches the sides of her head. "D-Do you think they'd forgive me?!"

I shoot a glance at Serafall who looks just as confused.

'Does... she not know that Serafall is the leviathan?'

She starts breathing heavily. "D-Did I just cause the devil race and the fey to go to war?! Oh no oh no oh no."

'Jesus. This fairy's a mess. Now I just need to convince her to stay with- OH FUCK AHAHAHAH would that actually work?!'

"Wait." I command suddenly, causing the girl to freeze. "Calm down."

"There is an easy way around this. Sure, it could be seen as an international incident to have someone as powerful as the lady of the lake to appear in Kuoh unannounced... people could see it as an attack from the fey, however. There is a solution to this. You have proclaimed that you want to marry me, sure, but, some may consider this a trick by the fey to lure the last of two incredibly powerful devil clans away from our faction... if I were to die, the devil race would lose not only my father's Malthus sword smithing, but also my mutated Decarabia regeneration."

I pause, the small fey girl clinging to my every word, Serafalls eyes widen slightly but a smirk works its way onto her face, she seems to approve how I am blowing this out of proportion.

"There is a way to cast aside all doubts that you are here to harm the devil race."

"W-What is it?!" The girl pleads.

"Enter a familiar contract with me." I shrug with a small smile. "With that, you wouldn't need to worry about anyone. You would be untouchable by the church, the fallen would wisely ignore you, and other factions would be forced to stay away unless they want to unify the three biblical factions and create a second great war."

"That way you could stay with me without worry." I smile kindly.

"R-Really?" The fey asks slowly.

"Absolutely." I nod.

"Would... that even work?" The woman whispers while looking at her hands.

"If Tiamat, one of the dragon kings, could technically be a familiar, I see no reason why the lady of the lake couldn't." I shrug as I look to Serafall. She looks genuinely impressed.

"I-" the fey begins quietly as she looks around slowly, eyes lingering on the now empty plate of sandwiches.

"I'll agree if you keep feeding me good stuff!" The fairy exclaims.

"Oh, that's easy. Alright." I agree.

"Okay! Then make me your familiar!"

I silently purchase the 'Familiar bond' feat after taking 'Iron Will'

Familiar Bond has been updated to its Dxd Variant!

"Very well." I slowly mutter as I hold out a hand.

Knowledge makes itself known to me as the feat takes hold. Dxd familiars are far superior to regular familiars in DnD... a familiar in DnD is merely a pet that grants a small stat boost to their master. But in Dxd... they can legitimately fight... it's probably more comparable to an animal companion, as they grow stronger the stronger you are and are quite powerful in a fight.

A magic circle appears beneath the blue haired woman.

"I, Gaius Decarabia extend this contract to the Fairy known as Viviane. Should she accept, we shall be bound forevermore."

"I-I accept." The fairy whispers.

""The contract is struck; thus, we are eternally connected. Our bond unbreakable, and together we become one."" We both echo.

A glow surrounds the fairy for a moment as she blinks owlishly down at her hands. "Wha? You were... this powerful?"

"Yeah." I nod slowly. "Always have been. Also, I'd like to say that I already have two Fiancées."

"Oh... well, that's fine. Most powerful men in the supernatural world have harems." The fey waves off. "C-Can we please go see Caledfwlch? I want to see it."

"I suppose... but first I should introduce you to her." I smirk as I gesture to Serafall.

"Hm? Is she one of your Fiancées?" The fairy questions with a tilt of her head.

"Heh. I wish." I snort lightly. "No. This is Serafall Leviathan."

The blue haired woman freezes in place, a shocked expression

"One of the four leaders of the new Satan faction." I continue.

*Poof*

The girl shrinks down into a pixie-like form and blurs over to me, diving into my shirt's collar to hide.

Her new form is barely eight inches tall, probably even shorter than that; I can feel her shaking slightly in my shirt as she peers out of the collar.

I tap the top of the fey's head with my index finger, giving the mini girl a head pat despite the fact that she's probably more than three times the age of Serafall. "it's alright, Vivi. If Serafall was mad you'd know... also probably be in a block of ice."

"I wouldn't hurt Gai-Tan's new familiar!" The woman cheers with a bright smile.

"R-Really?"  Viviane quietly whispers as she looks over to the woman who gives the fey a small wave.

"Sure!" The satan grins.

I stand up slowly. "Anyways... Serafall, I'm going to show Vivi Caled, I'll see you later... also I finished that big thing I was working on. I'll show you later."

The woman's eyes widen briefly before a smile crosses her face. "Oh? Is that so? In that case I can't wait!"

The Satan stands. "I should probably discuss today's events with the other Satans... I believe Ajuka would personally be interested in the infamous Lady of the Lake marrying one of our kind. But I will return soon to inquire about your new invention."

I give the woman a nod as I make my way to the door. "Alright, I'll see you later, Sera-Tan."

"Goodbye, Gai-tan." The satan waves.

I look down to the fairy who looks up to meet my gaze. "You can ride on my shoulder, you know."

"O-Oh. Right." The tiny woman mutters as she clambers out of my shirt and takes a seat beside my head.

I place my hands in my pockets as I calmly make my way through the mansion.

'If I was Artoria... where would I be? Probably in the training field.'

"So... uh, what's your favorite time of the day?" The fey asks, trying to make idle talk between the two of us.

"Night." I easily answer. "It's typically a little cooler, the moon is out, and dozens of beautiful little stars litter the sky."

"Oh! Me too!" The woman chirps with a bright smile, she kicks her feet slightly, seemingly trying to burn off excess energy as she sways back and forth with each of my steps, her hands placed on my shirt.

"We'll have time to get to know each other soon enough, I suppose... I need to let you meet my peerage. We're going to the wielder of Caledfwlch now." I announce as we continue walking through the long vibrant halls of fine wooden floors, paintings and other ornate trophies lining the walls. "Do you have any favorite foods?"

"Oh! Those sandwiches I had were the best thing I have eaten in ages! I'd say those are my favorite foods!"

"Oh, well, I'm glad you liked them. I made them myself." I kindly smile to my new familiar.

"You can cook?!" The fey exclaims eyes growing wide in surprise.

"Somewhat." I nod slowly.

She looks away suddenly, cupping her chin as she lets out a nearly inaudible mutter that I probably wasn't supposed to hear. "I really lucked out."

We make it to the training field to see a blonde woman wielding a wooden blade, she wears simple jeans and a sports bra, they are a little scuffed from her intense training.

She notices my approach and looks over, a small smile on her face. "Ah, Gaius. Hello."

"Hey Artoria." I wave. "There's someone I want you to meet."

"Hm?" The girl hums, tossing her blade aside where the tip sinks fairly deeply into the ground, leaving the hilt waiting to be grabbed whenever she is ready to continue training. "Who?"

I gesture to the fairy on my shoulder.

The King of the Britons blinks slowly, seemingly acknowledging the fairy for the first time since I walked up. "Oh? OH! A fairy?"

"Arthur?" The fey whispers suddenly.

"Eh?" The servant blinks owlishly as the small fey slowly floats forwards and begins carefully observing the girl's face.

"No..." Viviane whispers slowly. "You look incredibly similar, but..."

The fairy floats down slightly and places her tiny hands on the female king Arthur's chest and squeezes her nipples slightly. "Arthur wasn't a woman."

The swordswoman flinches and flicks the fairy away.

"Kyaaa!" The little woman cries as she tumbles through the air, landing roughly in my waiting hand.

The fey pouts as she sits up in my palm, rubbing a red mark on her cheek. "You're mean!"

"She is a Pendragon... also you sort of just sexually harassed her." I deadpan down at the fairy.

"Eh?" The fairy blinks as she looks back to me, then back to Artoria. "Ah! A descendant! No wonder you feel so similar. I feel less offended about an Arthur descendant wielding Caledfwlch instead of some random devil!"

"Anyways, Artoria, this is Viviane... the lady of the lake."

"H-Huh?!" The swordswoman gasps. "Y-You mean-"

"That she's the original creator Caledfwlch and Excalibur? Yes." I smirk. "Also, she's my familiar now."

She seems a bit stunned that I have 'tamed' something supposedly as powerful as the lady of the lake.

"Do you know where Caled is?" I ask slowly as I look around. "I sort of felt it would be right for the woman who originally made it to see what I have done."

"Oh. Caled is sleeping in my dimensional storage. I'll grab her."

A sheathed blade appears in her grasp a moment later, she slowly unsheathes the blade to reveal its stunning edge. It is fractured, sure, but the fractures have been fixed with other metals, making it look as if there's golden lightning running along the blue blade.

The fairy gasps as she floats out of my hand and rapidly enlarges back to her full height of about four feet.

She looks over the blade with a bright smile as her eyes glow slightly. "This is a masterpiece! You repaired the magical compatibility enchantment perfectly! You also highlighted the flaws, which in turn made the blade look even more unique and perfect!"

"It's called kintsugi" I shrug. "It's more for fixing pottery, but I thought it would work on the fragmented blade nicely."

"This is... astounding." The Fey whispers. "Is this an enchantment similar to Avalon?!"

"Yep." I nod.

The fairly looks over her shoulder with a pout. "I can't believe you managed to make something this powerful."

The blade glows brightly for a moment, flinging itself from Artoria's grasp. It loses its shape, then lands on the floor a small distance away as a small ball of light.

A light blue haired child with golden eyes appears sat on the floor, she covers her mouth as she lets out a cute yawn.

The fairy freezes in shock.

The sword-child wipes her eyes and looks at the fairy for a few seconds, a grin making its way onto their face.

She raises both hands and lets out a quiet cheer. "Momma!"

Oh. Right. Technically we would be her parents... but what does that make Artoria?

"SHE'S SOOOO CUUUUUUUTE!" The fey exclaims.