Fabricator v2 - Chapter 34 (WIP) (Patreon)

Chapter 34

Junichiro stretched as he walked into his workshop, a small red colored Dragon Automaton following behind him like a curious dog. As per Ddraig's request, he'd brewed a potion that alchemically changed Albion's scales from pure white to crimson. Since he completed the body, Ddraig had spent every moment inside of it.

It took the ancient dragon quite a while to get used to not only moving again, but moving within such a small form. It had literally been tens of thousands of years since he'd been a hatchling and he'd long grown used to being a much larger entity. Tack on about a thousand or so years of not being able to walk at all and he was about as graceful as a newborn the first time he tried to move.

Junichiro had very carefully made sure not to laugh. While he couldn't hide his amusement from the dragon in his head, he could at least be polite enough to not laugh in his face. Especially since he'd be counting on Ddraig's guidance in the use of the Boosted Gear. Junichiro figured Ddraig would forgive him for being amused since Ddraig was just so damned excited to be able to move on his own once again.

Once Ddraig had been able to move on his own, he'd taken to exploring the house and the workshop. Once he'd seen all there was to see, he'd started joining Junichiro and watching as he worked on the various requests he had. Ddraig found watching Junichiro working to be rather therapeutic and enjoyable. Then again, just about anything would be after a thousand years trapped in a cell.

On his end, Junichiro was waiting to hear back from Azazel about his meeting with Yasaka, something he'd felt the need to inform Rias of. Not so much that he felt she needed to know about everyone he worked with, but Yasaka was different, she was a faction leader. As her pawn, he just felt it was the responsible thing to inform Rias of his pending meeting. He wouldn't give her any details about the job, but she could know that much just so she wasn't blindsided by the information in the future.

Once inside his shop, Junichiro made his way to his forge where he lifted his hand with the palm facing the pile of coal in the center of it. Flames burst out of his palm in a torrent that bathed the coal in heat and ignited it. He kept the flamethrower from his palm going until the majority of the coal in the forge had caught fire. With another wave of his hand he flipped the switch on a small enchanted blower that began to pump fresh air into the forge drastically increasing the temperature.

The coal wasn't normal either. It was coal that had been treated with an alchemical solution that allowed it to not only burn hotter, but significantly longer. There was nothing quite as annoying as having to constantly shovel more coal into the forge to keep it going throughout the day. Cutting that down to once or twice a day was worth the effort of brewing the solution.

While the coals in the forge continued to heat up, he began collecting the materials he wanted to use for this project. As he did, Ddraig spoke up, his voice issuing from the dragon body, “What are you making today?”

As he collected ingots of various metals and set them on the table nearest his forge, he answered, “A holy sword, believe it or not. I got a request for it the other day and hadn't thought much about it. A regular holy sword is boring. Then I reviewed the request. It wasn't for just a holy sword. It was for a holy sword that could be used by someone even if they had an extremely low compatibility with holy weapons. In other words, a lack of holy element in their body, or however the hell it works here.”

Ddraig nodded along while Junichiro continued, “Even then, that's not interesting. The way I make holy swords only cares if the person using it is evil or not. As long as you're not evil, you can use it. If you are evil... I don't envy the burns it would give anyone evil touching it. So, easy request, not something I'd be in a hurry to work on because it's boring. But then I noticed there was more. I guess I should have read it all the way through the first time.”

Ddraig snorted at that. He'd noticed that his partner could be scatterbrained, impatient, childish, and all in all very immature for a being whose soul lived one full life already. Junichiro ignored the snort and moved on, “The request also asked for the holy power of the sword to be as strong as possible and for the sword to enhance the user's strength, speed, and durability.”

“That still doesn't sound impressive or like it would get your attention.”

Junichiro nodded in agreement with Ddraig. He'd noted it before, but the dragon's voice lost some of its presence when he was using the small body, “You're right, of course. The part that got me interested is the offered price. The more powerful I can make all the enhancements on the sword, the more the requester is willing to trade in exchange. They included a list of things they'd be willing to exchange for the blade. Most of it was alright but there was one item offered that really caught my attention.”

“Oh?”

Junichiro nodded seriously, “Something unique that I think they only put on the list for bragging rights and as an example of their wealth. And I quote, 'If your work is as good as I have heard, you push my request to the limits, and you meet my standards, I have such items of wonder to trade. Items such as the still beating heart of Y Ddraig Goch, the Red Dragon Emperor himself, preserved for posterity'.”

Ddraig's automaton froze as the words washed over him. While he processed the fact that someone still had his heart and kept it not only alive, but beating, all these years, Junichiro continued to collect materials. Once Ddraig recovered he spoke in a deceptively calm voice, “I take it you wish to earn my heart from this individual?”

Junichiro nodded, “Fuck yeah, I do.” He turned to look at Ddraig, giving the dragon the most serious look he could, “As morbid as it might sound Ddraig, your heart is probably one of the most powerful materials on the planet, only below things belonging to the two dragon gods. I want your heart but...”

Here Junichiro smiled, “I can do more than use it for materials. It's not just a piece of you like a scale, this is a piece of your living flesh. If I could make you an okay body out of Albion's scales, what do you think I could do with a piece of your flesh? A clone perhaps?”

“You would clone me?!”

Junichiro paused and carefully considered his answer given the danger radiating from Ddraigs tone of voice. He continued to give the dragon a serious look, “I would clone your flesh and blood to put your spirit back where it belongs. It won't be easy to free you, not as easy as letting you project your spirit. I would likely need to destroy the Boosted Gear to accomplish it. But I do believe that, far in the future, it is something I will be capable of.”

He turned a little playful, “Of course, it'll take me forever to get your body up to being more than a hatchling though.”

“You're... serious.”

Junichiro nodded and returned to giving Ddraig a serious look, “That I am. Look. I don't actually know if it's possible for me to clone you a perfect body. I haven't seen anything but dragon scales and there's no genetics on them, the same as there's not in a fingernail. I'm sure I can get the genetic code and copy that. It's, for lack of a better term, your metaphysical DNA that I'll have trouble with. I have your soul, so that's a plus, but that's only part of the puzzle. Until I examine the heart in person, I have no idea if I can actually use it like I wish. I can promise that I will do my best. Even if it takes a thousand years. I WILL make you a flesh and blood body so you can live once more.”

Ddraig, incapable of blinking, stared through the puppets eyes into Junichiro's unblinking eyes for a long moment. He was searching for any signs of deceit, but no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't find any. It also didn't hurt that he could poke into Junichiro's mind and see what was going on. It shocked him to his core to know that Junichiro was completely serious. He could tell Junichiro had other plans for his heart as well, but knowing it was one of his goals to bring Ddraig back to life...

Finally, Ddraig nodded his head in acceptance, “Thank you, in advance, for being willing to try, Partner.”

Junichiro just flashed Ddraig a bright smile, then got back to his work. He started loading the ingots he'd collected into the forge. Each one had a different melting point, which meant each reached perfect malleability at a different temperature. While the ingots heated up, he collected his tools, hammers mostly. He hadn't used a pair of tongs since he'd gotten Avalon. He had nothing to fear from the heat, it didn't even tingle. Though bright light still hurt his eyes if he stared directly into it, oddly enough.

When the first ingot, Mana Steel, was at the right temperature, he reached into the roaring flames and plucked it out. His hands had a much better grip than even his best pair of tongs and made his work so much easier. He expected that when he grew physically strong enough, he'd be able to mold and shape the metal without the use of a hammer.

Until then... hammer blows started to ring out into the workshop as he began the process of folding mana into layers of Mana Steel. While not the strongest magical metal at his disposal, it was one the the more flexible metals when properly treated. He planned to use it as the core of the sword to give it some spring so the odds of it breaking would be significantly lower. He was making a Rapier style sword, after all.

-----Line Break-----

Junichiro looked at the large quenching container he'd built and filled with a special solution. His knowledge of Artificing taught him a simple method of infusing materials with holy power to make them into holy items. It wasn't a difficult process at all. Though, obviously, there were levels and the closer to holy an item was at base, the more powerful the holy enchantments he could weave would be.

For example, using the feathers of an angel in the process of making the item. Or using something considered to be 'pure' such as 'pure' mountain water or water gained from iceberg melt. That kind of stuff. Combined with special prayers and blessings to encourage a deity of choice to touch the item with a bit of divinity would lead to the item becoming holy.

Then there was how holy weapons were made in his current world, though an Alchemical process. By studying Excalibur Ruler and Avalon, he was able to gain some understanding of the process used, but the full details eluded him no matter how he scanned and studied the items. Despite that, he'd managed to use the knowledge he had and combined it with what he'd gained to make a process that was, as far as he knew, completely unique.

A part of that process involved the blue glowing liquid resting inside of the quenching container. The liquid, despite being still, seemed to be moving as lines of white light appeared to ripple through the blue liquid. Just standing next to it, he could feel the holy aura radiating from the liquid he'd created. He hadn't thought of a name for it yet, so he'd decided to temporarily call it the Holy Quench.

Next to the Holy Quench was the forge. It was going strong and sitting within it was the rapier he'd been working on. It was composed of three layers that made it only slightly wider than a standard rapier would be, but it was worth it.

The inner core was Mana Steel that he'd folded a dozen times then covered in laser etched runes. The next layer was made of Mithril, it was a bit surprising to find the legendary metal, but he loved working with it. Light, hard, and excellent magic conductivity, made it wonderful for armor and weapons. That layer wasn't folded, but it was covered in runes as well. The final, outer, layer was made of a metal known as Xubrite.

Xubrite was something very interesting to Junichiro as it wasn't based on any metal he was familiar with. Many magical metals were magically mutated forms of regular metals. Mithril, for instance, was a mutated form of silver. Xubrite was more like a clear crystal, like a perfect piece of quartz. Yet it acted exactly like metal when hit with heat and a hammer. It was strange, but it was also slightly flexible and could hold an edge.

Due to it being clear, it was easy to see the Mithril layer through it. Knowing that ahead of time, Junichiro had made sure that the Mithril layer looked perfect. When looking at it, the layer of Xubrite was nearly invisible but added a higher level of gloss to the overall look of the blade.

He was proud of the work he'd done so far, but it was now the moment of truth, he needed to quench the blade in the Holy Quench to finish making it into a holy sword. From there he needed all the little bits and pieces to finish it off which would allow him to add in more power to the weapon and finish the enchantments for the special features he'd built into the blade.

After pulling the blade from the forge, he carefully lowered it into the glowing blue liquid of the Holy Quench. There was a terrible hissing sound as the sword, glowing orange-yellow from the heat, touched the room temperature alchemical mixture. Oddly, there wasn't an ounce of steam as the liquid didn't evaporate into the air despite the heat of the blade.

Instead, the liquid within the quench tank was slowly absorbed into the blade causing the tank to slowly drain. The liquid continued to hiss from the heat as it did very little to actually lower the temperature of the metal. He held the blade inside of the Holy Quench until the hissing stopped.

When he removed the blade from the liquid, it was still glowing a dull orange as, despite the quench, it had only cooled the equivalent amount it would have in the open air. It wasn't over though. Junichiro stuck the blade back into the forge and brought it up to critical temperature once more. With the blade roaring hot, he dunked it into what was left of the blue mixture. He repeated this process until every drop of the alchemical mixture had been absorbed into the blade.

When he was finished with the mixture, he clamped the tang of the sword into a vice and left it to air cool, “You feel that Ddraig?”

The mechanical looking dragon nodded its head, “It has a rather strong aura of holy power to it.”

Junichiro nodded and observed the cooling sword, “You know, I'm surprised at what is considered 'holy' power in this world.”

“Oh?”

He nodded and explained, “In my old world 'holy' power would be considered as something touched by the divine. Such as the spear of Longinus that pierced the side of Big G's kid. I'm assuming the True Longinus Sacred Gear is such a powerful holy item because of its touch of divinity. However, divinity isn't something that mere mortals can replicate and grant to a sword like Excalibur.”

Ddraig scoffed, “Of course it's not. Even with all of my power at my prime and being referred to as a 'Heavenly Dragon' I wasn't close to reaching divinity.”

Junichiro snapped his fingers and pointed at Ddraig, “Exactly! So how did mortals make such a powerful 'holy' weapon? The answer is, they cheated! It's rather brilliant too. They combined light magic, much like what Angels use, with purity to create a powerful pure light that emulated Holy power to the point of being nearly indistinguishable from real Holy power.”

His smile grew, “As far as I can tell, the strength of a so-called 'holy' item created in such a way comes down to how 'pure' the method used to infuse light magic into the object is. Though the strength of the light magic also plays a key role, it's secondary to the purity of the transfer process. Combine both an extremely pure transfer process with an exceptional source of light magic and you can make a weapon on par with Excalibur.”

Unfortunately, Junichiro hadn't quite been able to get his alchemical treatment to be that pure or the light magic to be that powerful. Not yet, anyway. Even so, the sword he'd made had an aura that would likely put it on par with other lesser known holy swords and gave it a great deal of power regardless. Excalibur Prime, Durandal, and Caliburn would crush his sword beneath their might, but on par with swords such as Clarent, the sword that killed King Arthur. At least according to what Ddraig had told him.

As the pair watched the sword cool, the once crystal clear Xubrite took on a slight bluish tint to it that was rather striking when light reflected off of the highly polished Mithril beneath its surface. Juncihiro smiled wistfully as he looked the sword over, “You know, part of me is a bit sad that I'm making this blade for someone else. I kind of want to keep it.”

Ddraig snorted, “You feel that way about most of the things you make.”

“True!”

Though Ddraig hadn't been with Junichiro for very long, he was inside of the young man's head and knew everything that Junichiro knew, or at least almost everything. That impossible wall that indicated memories that came from before his birth were impossible to see. The only saving grace was that anytime Junichiro thought of those memories they would be moved into his current life and thus available to him. He quite enjoyed seeing some of them and, secretly, was downright grateful to Junichiro for saving him from becoming known as the 'Oppai Dragon.' It didn't matter in the least to him how powerful or interesting Issei might have become, he was a Dragon and had his pride! He couldn't imagine what he would have had to go through to allow himself to fall so low as to become known as the boob dragon.

Part of him wanted to encourage Junichiro to hunt down and murder Issei just to make sure there was no possibility of such a future ever happening to him. Just the reflected embarrassment of those memories made him want to curl up into a ball and die a final death. He would never, ever, say it out loud, but his gratitude toward Junichiro for saving him from such a fate was nigh infinite.

To that end, he could see the plans and ideas brewing in Juncihiro's mind and had every intention of helping him in any way possible. It was the least he could do.

-----Line Break-----

Junichiro looked up from his word on the basket hilt for the rapier he was making as his wards informed him of a visitor. Since they used the teleportation circle, he knew it could only be one of three people, Azazel, Mittelt, and Rias. They were the only ones authorized to just teleport into his home without warning, everyone else had to call ahead.

It was only a few moments before the unexpected guest opened the door to his workshop and strolled in like they owned the place. Or, at least, Rias had done so until just after she passed the threshold. As soon as she had she froze and her eyes zeroed in on the sword currently being worked on by Junichiro, “What the hell is that?!”

“A holy sword.”

Junichiro’s tone contained severe levels of ‘duh’ within them, something Rias noticed immediately, “I can see that! I mean, why are you making a holy sword?!”

Junichiro couldn’t keep the smirk off of his face as he answered, “Oh! Because a client requested one.”

Rias groaned and shook her head, “Let’s try this again. You can make holy swords?” At his nod she continued, “Which brings up the question, even if it was a request, of why you would make a weapon that you, and the rest of devil-kind, are specifically weak to. A weapon most likely to be used against Devils, such as ourselves.”

“Because the pay is good.”

Rias let out another groan and held her face in her hands, “Junichiro that’s not what I mean and you know it! Now please stop messing around and explain why you’re making it.”

Junichiro pouted a bit but let it go. He’d had his fun teasing Rias, “Fiiiiine. I’m making this sword and trading it to someone that has Ddraig’s still beating heart in their possession. If I can make a strong enough, worthy enough, holy weapon in the form of a rapier, they are willing to trade it to me. So, I’m going all out to make the strongest one I possibly can in the hopes of earning that heart. As for how I can make a holy sword without hurting myself? I’m an Artificer. I can make and use any kind of weapon, as long as it’s not fully sentient enough to refuse me. Even then, sentient weapons are more inclined to allow me to use them so I can evaluate and repair them if necessary. And, for obvious reasons, anything I personally made would never refuse to allow me to wield it.”

Rias sighed and let her whole body sag for a moment. Once she got over her first bout of shock and grew a little accustomed to the feeling of holy power radiating from the sword Junichiro was working on, she managed to calm down. She took one final deep, cleansing breath and let it out before she looked at him once more and spoke, “I’m not so sure it’s a good idea for you to be making and selling Holy weapons. Even if the reward for doing so is something as significant as what you’ve been offered.”

She crossed her arms under her breasts, causing them to stretch against her top and reveal a deep valley of cleavage. She obviously wasn’t as big as she would be in a couple of years, but she was still large enough to draw a lot of male attention and female jealousy, “Though there aren’t a massive plethora of Holy weapons floating around, there’s still enough of them that we have to worry. Adding new powerful weapons into the mix is a dangerous prospect and could lead to a lot of trouble. There’s also the optics of the situation to consider. Though I will keep my word and never mention who you are, it will eventually get out. All secrets do, in time. What will happen when it becomes known that you’re ‘The Artificer’ and have made holy weapons that were, quite possibly, used against other devils?”

Junichiro considered the question but shrugged it off, “I’ll deal with that in the future. But you seem to be assuming this is the first thing I’ve made that could be used against Devils. It is the first Holy Sword I’ve made, but it’s not the first religious or profound object I’ve made that could cause undue harm to devils.”

He shrugged his shoulders, “Then there’s the flip side of the coin. Cursed or otherwise ‘evil’ items that I’ve made and sold. What happens when organizations like the Church find out that ‘The Artificer’ is a Devil and has made unholy abominations and sent them out into the world? I understand where you’re coming from, but frankly, once my identity does come out it’s going to cause a shit storm no matter what I make or what race I am.”

Rias thought about that for a bit before she sighed and admitted that he was right. The moment his identity was widely known, it wouldn’t matter what race he was or what faction he was a member of, it would cause a storm. Realizing that, she let out another deep sigh and dismissed the topic. Instead of a pointless argument, she decided to learn more about what he was doing.

With her face the picture of curiosity, she forced herself closer to the weapon that was sending shivers down her spine and commented, “I’ve been in the presence of more holy swords since you joined my peerage than ever before in my life. First Excalibur Ruler and now this one. Does it have a name?”

Junichiro returned to his work attaching a rune etched strap of metal to the protective cage of the basket hilt, “No, no name. I don’t actually name my creations. Makes me want to keep them more than I already do.”

“So, aside from being holy, does it do anything else?”

Junichiro smiled at Rias showing some interest in his work. It was nice to talk to his boss in this manner, “It enhances the user’s strength, speed, and durability a fair amount. But the most impressive thing I’ve managed to do is give it a special ability!”

“Oh?”

Hearing the curiosity in Rias’s tone, he explained, “By feeding energy into the sword, whether it’s the user’s own stamina, magical power, or some other source of energy they’re able to use, the sword  can be charged up. The sword can hold a rather large, bordering on massive, amount of energy thanks to the Xubrite exterior. While it maintains a charge, the basic boosts granted by the sword are enhanced proportional to the charge. Once the sword has a charge though, the user can release that charge at will during a slash. When they do, the sword will release a massive wave of holy energy in the direction of the swing!”

Rias looked nonplussed, “So… a sword beam?”

“A holy sword beam!”

Rias rolled her eyes and gave Junichiro’s shoulder a condescending pat and spoke in a teasing voice, “I’m sure that makes a difference.”

Juniciro chuckled and returned to his work, “So, why did you come over today? I don’t expect it was to talk to me about the holy sword you didn’t know I was making.”

“Oh! Right. I’d like for the entire peerage to get together this weekend for some group training. I was also hoping to include the other into the secret of your alternate identity. It’s not a big deal, but it is getting a little annoying that I can’t explain why I haven’t had you enroll in school like I have the others. It will also make it easier to explain why you’re not joining all of us at Kuoh Academy when it goes co-ed next year.”

Junichiro rolled his head back and forth as he thought over the situation, “Fine, but I expect them to keep it a secret as well, under contract just like you are. The secret is too big to let it be held by a simple matter of trust. I’m certain things will get annoying and complicated if it was found out that I joined your peerage. At least I know Azazel doesn’t give a damn and will keep silent as long as business stays the same.”

He didn’t bring up Mittelt since he wasn’t quite as certain that she would remain silent. Though, he expected she would just to keep Azazel from taking it out on her if she was to speak about things she shouldn’t.

As he was thinking about that, he spoke up, “I almost forgot! Azazel is getting me a meeting with Yasaka, the Yokai leader, sometime in the near future. It seems she has something special she wants made and it requires speaking face to face. She’ll be signing my standard non-disclosure for this kind of thing so my identity will be safe.”

Rias pondered over that for a moment before she nodded, “Alright. Just let me know before you leave and when you return. Or if anything happens and you need some help.”

“Thanks. I doubt there will be any issues and Azazel will be there as well. So, even if, for some reason, I can’t protect myself, he’ll be able to help me get out. Not that I think there will be any need for that sort of thing. As far as I know, Yasaka is a straight shooter and won’t try anything.”

Ria mulled over that and nodded, “Still, keep me on speed dial in case you need help.”

Junichiro gave her a little cheeky salute, “Yes, boss. I’ll be sure to let you know when I know more.”

Once that was decided, Rias gave Juniciro the details on when they were meeting for the group training and left. He returned to his work, determined to make the holy sword as powerful as he could within his current limits.

—--Line Break—--

Junichiro held up the nearly completed Holy Rapier in his hand and was examining every minute detail of the weapon. The blade itself was a gorgeous glimmering bit of perfection. The crystal clear, lightly blue tinted, Xubrite exterior allowed light to reflect off the highly polished Mithril core and scatter light causing the sword to practically glow while just sitting still.

Attached to the blade was an elaborate basket hilt below winding quillons. The metal pieces of the basket hilt were composed of Alchemically treated Gold and Silver. The treatment hardened the metals beyond their base levels and made them more durable while simultaneously making them more accepting of enchantments. Behind the cage of gold and silver was a delicate looking lining of bright blue felt. It too was treated to make it more durable and long lasting. The handle itself was iron wood covered in minotaur leather.

He was examining every last detail, including using a jewelers loop to double check the laser etched runes that would anchor the final enchantment. He’d spent the last three hours going over every inch of the blade. As it stood, it was an excellent sword with a powerful Holy aura radiating from it. Even if he didn’t finish the weapon, it was a sword to be reckoned with.

That was nowhere near good enough to earn him Ddraig’s heart.

No, the sword wasn’t one hundred percent complete yet, he just needed to finalize it. To do that, he planned to cheat. If you weren’t cheating you weren’t trying, as the saying went.

Once he finished his examination of the sword, he set it down and summoned the red gauntlet of the Boosted Gear, “You ready Ddraig?”

The dragon, residing in the gauntlet for the purpose of the next step, scoffed, “Always Partner.”

[BOOST!]

Junichiro shuddered at the sudden influx of power into his body. He’d experimented a little with Ddraig and discovered the unexpected differences the Boosted Gear had due to the Essence of the Blank. Unlocking every feature that the gear possessed was already well known. He also had to be exceptionally careful not to take the power too high. The Essence modified the Boosted Gear to, essentially, remove all the limits.

On paper, that’s amazing. And it’s kind of amazing in reality as well. However, just because the Boosted Gear will let him boost a thousand times in a row, didn’t mean his body could actually survive the process. The same applied to using the Scale Mail Balance Breaker and the even more ridiculous Juggernaut Drive. He could currently use none of that without some severe consequences to his body and possibly dying doing so. He was going to rely heavily on Ddraig to keep him in check, good thing he’d always planned to be best friends with the dragon.

[BOOST!]

Junichiro boosted a total of five times, multiplying his power by thirty-two times. Issei might have been able to use the boost a dozen times in a row, but the difference in the power that was being multiplied was an order of magnitude in difference. If Issei was a one, Junichiro was currently a fifty. The sheer difference in the amount of power Junichiro had in total from a single boost was more than a half dozen of Issei’s boosts.

(If Issei is 1, 6 Boosts makes him a 64. If Juni is a 50, 1 Boost makes him a 100.)

With the power that was now filling him to the brim, Junichiro began concentrating on laying down the final enchantments on the rapier. As he channeled his magical power into the weapon, weaving the final enchantment into it, the sword began to vibrate and glow. The more power he poured into the weapon, the brighter it became and the more it shook, until the very air around it began to vibrate with the sheer amount of power.

The process only lasted about thirty seconds before Junichiro was completely drained of energy. He dismissed the Boosted Gear and sagged into a nearby seat to catch his breath. After wiping some sweat off of his face he looked at the still glowing sword with a bright smile on his face, “Now, we wait.”

—--Line Break —--

It took several hours for the glowing to die down and let Junichiro and Ddraig get their first look at the completed sword. While the look of the weapon hadn’t changed drastically, it was still… more. The aura the sword radiated had more than doubled in strength. It felt stronger than Excalibur Ruler in sheer holy might. Sadly, it didn’t have an ability anywhere near as powerful as Ruler did so it was still technically weaker.

He collected the weapon and magically examined its effects on the user. The results put a smile on his face. While nowhere near as good as Avalon, the sword boosted all the physical abilities of the user. Strength, speed, and durability, were all increased by a fair amount and would make anyone using the sword a force to be reckoned with. Add in the sword’s ability to store energy and release it in a powerful slashing attack at range made it rather well rounded and powerful.

He could only hope it was enough to earn him Ddraig’s heart.

Once he finished examining the blade, he set it aside and went to work on making a proper scabbard for the sword to rest in.

—--Line Break—--

Junichiro walked into the Occult Research Club’s main room to join the rest of his fellow peerage members. Rias gave him a bright smile while the others just acknowledged his presence. He didn’t spend a lot of time hanging out with the other members of the peerage so there was a bit of a gap in how they treated him compared to the others. It didn’t help that he spent the majority of his time at his home doing his work. If he had to put it into words… Rias was a friend and everyone else was an acquaintance through his friend.

As he sat down, choosing to sit next to his favorite kitten, Rias addressed the group, “Today we’re going to do a few things, mostly focused on team building.” She pulled out a sheaf of papers, contracts specifically, and set them down on her desk, “Before we can do that though, I need everyone but Junichiro to sign one of these contracts.”

Curious, Akeno was the first to collect a contract and read it over, “A nondisclosure about Junichiro-kun?”

The others collected a copy and read it over. Once finished they were looking between Rias and Junichiro. Kiba was the first to sign, followed by Koneko. Akeno, on the other hand, gave Rias a searching look as she asked, “Is this really necessary?”

Rias, radiating a sense of calm determination, nodded at the question, “Yes. In order for us to grow closer as a peerage, as a family, we need to extend some protection and trust to Junichiro in order for him to tell us all his secrets and for us to all grow closer.”

Finally, Akeno signed the document. Once Rias had all of them tucked away, she smiled and looked at Junichiro. Taking that as his queue, Junichiro sighed and nodded, “Alright. I’m sure you all have had at least some curiosity about what I do during my days since I don’t attend school.”

Akeno and Kiba nodded, while Koneko just munched on a cookie without a care.

“Well, it’s simple really. I spend all that time working in my workshop making all kinds of different items. You’re probably aware of my work since I have a rather famous moniker. Ever heard of ‘The Artificer’?”

There was a moment of absolute silence as the three who didn’t previously know processed the information they’d just been given. Kiba was the one to break the silence with an uncharacteristic, “Oh. Shit.”

Junichiro smirked at the reaction that Kiba gave to the information. Kiba always tried to present himself as a perfect gentleman. Him swearing like that was a sure sign of the shock he felt. Akeno was the next one to speak up, “Are you seriously ‘The Artificer’? Like, for real?”

Junichiro nodded, “I am. There’s more though that’s covered in the agreement.”

He lifted his left arm and summoned the Boosted Gear in a flash of red light, “I’m also the current Red Dragon Emperor.”

Even Koneko was gaping at that revelation. Junichiro continued to grin as he dismissed the gauntlet, “For obvious reasons, I don’t want this information getting out. I like my privacy. It would also cause issues if word of my becoming a Devil was to get out to the public.”

It took a moment for the information to process the information, but when she did, her eyes narrowed, “That’s how you knew so much about me! The Artificer does all of his business through the Grigori!”

Junichiro nodded, “I’ve never met the bag of dicks that is your father though. All of my dealing has been with Azazel and a low level Fallen named Mittelt. I’ve not met any other members of the Grigori in person.”

Rias spoke up, “I asked Junichiro to allow you all to know this. The contract is for his protection, not a sign of mistrust. It will keep you from ever mentioning who he is widely known as in mixed company. We can only talk about it among ourselves, not even Sona will be made aware of this information without Junichiro’s permission and a contract signed by her.”

Akeno, still in the process of coming to grips with their new reality, had another revelation pop into her mind, “Rias! You can be free!”

There was a moment of silence after Akeno spoke as both Kiba and Koneko processed that information. Their eyes widened as they came to the same conclusion as Akeno. With Junichiro being able to make all kinds of magical items, there was no way he wouldn’t be able to make something that would be a hard counter to Riser! With his help, Rias could challenge Riser to a rating game, in a few years, and Junichiro could provide everything they needed to stomp the arrogant prick into the ground!

Rias gave Akeno a bright smile, “That’s right.”

Junichiro cut in at that moment, “I’m sorry, will someone explain to me what everyone else seems to understand?”

He knew. He just couldn’t say he knew.

Rias, still smiling beatifically, answered for herself, “I’m currently engaged, against my will, to a particularly slimy and arrogant man named Riser Phenex. Our parents made the arrangement and I vehemently oppose it. Unfortunately, I don’t have the political or physical might to force the issue and gain my freedom. I’ve been given until I graduate from college and then I will be wed to that slimeball against my will.”

Her smile didn’t change at all as she explained her dire situation, “That was, until I met you and it all changed. Even if you were just The Artificer or the Red Dragon Emperor alone, I would feel more secure about my future. With you being both though?” Here her smile turned vicious, “He doesn’t stand a chance and when I graduate from college I will challenge him to a Rating Game with my freedom on the line and, together, we’ll crush him into the ground.”

Junichiro tilted his head to the side, “Phenex huh? That’s the family with the fire and regeneration right?”

At Rias’s nod, he continued, “Piece of cake. Regeneration is a wonderful ability to have and is a pain to counter without the right resources. Though I’m not entirely sure why he was even a worry? I mean, you’ve got almost six years to prepare and Akeno-san is on your side. He shouldn’t have been all that much of a worry to begin with.”

He looked at Akeno, “You did inherit the lightning from your bag of dicks father, right?”

Akeno displayed a mix of emotions at his question. Shame, amusement, consternation, and insight. Slowly, she began to smile a little, “Why yes, yes I did.”

She’d had time to think after he’d ripped into her but she hadn’t considered her use of Holy Lightning, yet. While she was blindly hating all Fallen Angels and anything to do with them, especially anything to do with her ‘bag of dicks father.’ She now realized there was no reason to hold back on the use of her most powerful anti-Devil magic. Sure, she still despised her father, but it was her lightning and she could use it to protect the most important person in her life.

She’d have to be a complete and utter bitch to refuse to help her friend when she was in need. Not to mention, she’d seen Riser’s eyes wandering over her body recently and knew that if Rias lost then she too would end up in Riser’s bed, even against her will. Not only would she have to be a complete bitch to not use her Holy Lightning, she’d have to be a complete and utter moron to let herself become a victim like that.

Junichiro smirked, “That ability plus six years of training?” He turned to look at Rias, “Unless this guy is some super devil working his ass off to constantly get stronger, he doesn’t really stand much of a chance does he? Still, some training is in order. I can tell all of you have a lot of potential and it would be a complete waste to not try and reach that potential.”

He looked at Kiba, “I can help you further refine your use of Sword Birth.”

His gaze moved to Akeno, “I can help you learn how to fight in melee to take full advantage of your Queen piece.”

Koneko was next, “You need to learn more than just charge and punch. We can work on that.”

Finally his eyes alighted on Rias, “As for you. Not entirely certain where you need improvement.”

Rias chuckled, “Well, it’s a good thing we also had some training planned for today, isn’t it?”

He nodded in agreement, “Shall we get to it?”

—--Line Break—--

The entire peerage, minus Junichiro, were collapsed on the ground covered in sweat and panting for breath. They’d done several things, including some sparring and magic practice, that left almost everyone gasping for breath. Junichiro was in such good condition due to his use of the Seven Stars. Rias was the next most put together due to her own use of the slightly inferior version. However, she’d be in even better condition if her use of the Power of Destruction wasn’t so wasteful.

Junichiro walked over to look down at a gasping Rias and smirked, “Well, I can see what your problem is now. You’re wasteful and slow. It takes you forever to gather your power and then you waste it by releasing it all in a single big attack. Anyone with decent speed could easily dodge your attacks.”

Rias, still panting, managed to get out, “But… that’s how… my brother… does it.”

Junichiro rolled his eyes, “Yeah, but he’s an uber devil with ungodly amounts of demonic power and hundreds of years of practice at his disposal. YOU are a teenage girl with neither. Throwing out massive attacks that eat up huge amounts of your demonic power is a complete waste of time and energy. What you need to be focusing on is smaller, faster, and more precise attacks. Think about it. If you could do a simple small blast at blistering speeds, you could use it to disable your enemy and then finish them off with a big boom, if you wanted. Personally, I’d focus on control and accuracy then use the minimal amount of power to achieve victory.”

He smirked, “A small bolt of Power of Destruction to the forehead is just as deadly as a massive blast that erases the target’s entire upper torso. Dead is dead.”

Rias didn’t look entirely convinced of his logic, but she didn’t argue with him either. Seeing that, he added a little more, “Another idea would be something based on a claymore mine. Just a massive directional blast that launches a bunch of small energy efficient balls of destruction. A full hit would be deadly, but even just clipping someone would slow them down for you to finish them off. Given it should be a huge wide area attack, it would be exceedingly difficult to dodge.”

Rias looked slightly more interested in that idea, but still wasn’t saying anything. Junichiro Tilted his head as he continued to think. A bunch of attacks based on weaponry seemed like an interesting idea for Rias to work with. Something to keep in mind for future training.

He moved on from her to look over at Kiba, “Kiba! You’ve improved your swords significantly. I am impressed. If you have time, you should come to my place and watch me work on some swords every now and then. It should give you an even better understanding of the construction process and let you make even stronger blades in the future.”

After Kiba nodded, he turned to look at Koneko with a bit of a frown, “You… Need to work on something other than charging in and punching things. While being tough and strong is great, and your natural speed is nice, you’re far too straight forward. A straight line charge and punch is far too easy to avoid. You should also seriously work on using magic in some capacity. Seriously, I could use the same trick I used in our first little duel to trap you over and over. I might not have the power to break your defenses head on…”

Well, he did, but breaking out stuff like that in a friendly spar was just overkill, “But I can easily keep you trapped in pits and force you to dig your way out over and over with just a bit of earth manipulation.”

Koneko frowned and looked annoyed, but it was true. She, currently, could really only charge in and try to punch things. She didn’t really have anything else to use as she refused to even contemplate using Senjutsu for anything.

He turned to the last person, Akeno, “Good job on using your Holy Lightning. That’s some scary stuff. But you still need to work on your melee fighting. It’d be an excellent back up skillset for when you’re low on demonic power and still want to be able to contribute. Whether it’s via a bolt of Holy Lightning or a punch to the face, beating someone is beating them.”

Akeno looked a little put out, but didn’t argue against him. His gaze wandered over the quickly recovering group of devils and smiled, “Still, great job today everyone! I’ll see if I can come up with any items that you all can use to help your training.”

That was a lie. He had a bunch of items they could use for training. He’d been using them himself to make sure they worked as he desired. A bunch of them he’d ripped off of various anime he remembered. for example, he’d made a small bracelet that cast a localized gravity spell on the wearer and put their entire body under extra weight. The more power provided to the bracelet, the stronger the spell and heavier the weight. Junichiro, when not working, had his currently quadrupling his weight. Or, essentially, putting his entire body under four times gravity. He had another item that was similar but focused on resistance instead of weight. He was currently testing which was better or if he should be using a combination of both.

He had other items to help other aspects like magical power and flight speed. Everyone would still need to put in the required work and effort, but his tools could help them grow faster. He considered the things he made to be no different than using a weight machine to work out and gain muscle. Only, his tools were more sophisticated and effective.

It took some time for everyone to recover enough to go about the rest of their day like normal. Though, before leaving, Junichiro pulled Rias aside, “I’d like to work with you on your Power of Destruction for a bit longer. I really think we can come up with something together that will give you a nice edge in fights.”

He was being truthful, but also had an ulterior motive. By learning next to her he could take advantage of his Essence of the blank to try and learn how to use the Power of Destruction himself. It might take some time and likely wouldn’t be easy. The Essence would do nothing to help him comprehend the ability, it just made it possible. It was entirely up to Junichiro to learn it. There was no guarantee that he would learn it, but he was sure as hell going to try!

The pair spent the two hours working together to improve Rias’s control over her innate clan trait. By the time they were done, some progress was made. She would never admit it aloud, but Rias was actually seeing the point Junichiro was trying to make about her use of her ability. She was nowhere near as powerful as Sirzechs and trying to use the Power of Destruction in the same manner that he does was an exercise in futility. At least, it would be until she reached the same level of power. Considering her age, she was actually quite powerful already.

Unfortunately, Junichiro hadn’t been able to gleen much information on how the Power of Destruction worked. Oh well, he had the next few thousand years to figure it out and it wasn’t as if he had to be able to use it right that moment. Or even anytime soon. It was just something he would like to be able to use in the future since it had so much power and potential.

He’d get it eventually.

—--Line Break—--

Junichiro looked at Azazel from across his dining room table as he lounged on the cough, “So, he didn’t go for it eh? What was his offer after seeing the sword?”

Azazel, smoking one of Junichiro’s custom blends, let out a smoke filled sigh, “Well, he was impressed with the sword, but not impressed enough to part with something like Ddraig’s still beating heart. You’d have to make a sword that surpassed Excalibur to even have a shot at that.”

Junichiro shrugged, “It was worth a shot. His counter offer?”

Azazel pulled out a list and passed it over to Junichiro, “These are the items he has that he’s willing to trade.”

Junichiro read down the list until he came across an item that caused his eyebrows to rise in surprise, “Agreasite? He has a chunk of freaking Agreasite?! That, definitely that!”

Azazel arched an eyebrow in surprise then slowly began to smirk, “Hoh? Interested in the stuff your Evil Piece was made from?”

“Damn right I am! You know how impossible that stuff is to get! Not to speak bad of my adopted race, but those devil assholes keep a close eye on it and wouldn’t sell a gram of it for anything! For him to have a five pound chunk that he’s willing to trade wholesale for that sword? I’d have to be a fucking moron not to leap at it.”

Azazel chuckled and nodded in understanding, “I get it.” He took a drag off of the cigarette and exhaled before continuing, “By the way, would you be willing to trade any of it to me? Like you said, Agreasite is impossible to get.”

Junichiro scoffed, rolled his eyes, and used his most sarcastic voice, “Sure, I’ll trade you a gram for half a dozen Twice Criticals.”

“Deal! No take backs!”

Junichiro paused as Azazel’s words filtered into his brain. Slowly his eyes narrowed as he stared balefully at Azazel, “I wasn’t being serious, and you know it.”

Azazel just smirked back and practically radiated an aura of smug satisfaction, “Maybe, but you’re a devil. You made the offer and I accepted. You’re not going to go back on a deal you made with the leader of the Grigori. Are you?”

They both knew that Azazel wouldn’t do anything if Junichiro did refuse to stand by the ‘deal’ they’d just made. But, after thinking of it for a moment, he decided to go through with the deal. Six Twice Criticals for a single gram of Agreasite wasn’t a horrible deal. On top of that, he could gift the Twice Criticals to his current and future peerage members.

Junichiro let the silence drag out before he sighed and shook his head in resignation, “Fine, it’s a deal. But you only get a single gram! Not a microgram more!”

Azazel snickered and nodded, “Yeah, yeah. I won’t rip you off you greedy devil.”

Deciding they needed a different topic, Junichiro asked, “Any news on when Yasaka wants to meet me?”

Azazel shook his head, “Not yet. It’s hard for her to arrange a time when she can be alone and guarantee that no one will randomly walk into the meeting. It should be soon though.”

“Alright. I’ll wait on word for that and my delivery of Agreasite and Twice Criticals.”

Azazel snorted, “What the hell are you going to actually do with all of those things? You’ve already got the far superior Boosted Gear.”

A wicked gleam entered Junichiro’s eyes as he suddenly had a terrible idea, “Oh, I was thinking I could gift one to Sirzechs Lucifer.”

Azazel just scoffed, “As if he could do anything with it. You think I wouldn’t have one myself if they worked on beings at my level or higher? Those things are so goddamn common that any of us at the top could have one if we wanted. Easily.”

He shook his head, “I mean really. Twice Criticals might be looked down on when used by a human, but one of my Cadre, the Four Satans, or the highest tiers of the Heavenly Host, they would be a game changer.”

He took a drag on his cigarette and exhaled again, “No, pops was smart enough to make sure we couldn’t do something like that. After a certain level of strength, Sacred Gears just won't work if they weren’t naturally obtained. Or, quite possibly, a weak ass Sacred Gear like Twice Critical would self-destruct if it tried to double the power of someone like Sirzechs.”

Junichiro spent some time thinking over that and sighed, “Somehow, I’m not surprised about that. Well, I can still give one to Rias, I suppose. Then she can grow into it over time.” He tilted his head back and forth, “Maybe one to Akeno as well.”

“Speaking of that little sparkler, how’s she doing? An… interested third party would like to know.”

“You mean Barakiel? I expect that, if she’s strong enough, Akeno will attempt to kill him if they meet. All the hatred she had for the fallen as a whole? It’s now all focused purely on that bag of dildos. There’s seriously no excuse he could ever offer that could be even considered acceptable. He plain abandoned her and has never even tried to reach out. As far as I can tell, Akeno doesn’t even consider him her father anymore. Just that scumbag that knocked her mom up and then abandoned his daughter.”

Azazel grimaced and sighed, “Damn. That’s harsh.” He shook his head and climbed to his feet, “I’ll… tell him something a little nicer I think. That was the last bit of business, for now. i’m going to head back and get your payments.”

Junichiro hopped to his feet and made his way toward the exit of the room, “Looking forward to it Azazel!”

Agreasite, the crystal used to make Evil Pieces and half a dozen Twice Criticals he can give to friends. Not a bad return for the Holy Rapier he’d made. Not bad at all.

-----Line Break-----

AN

Okay, this is the completed chapter. Took longer than I wanted to finish, but it's definitely done now! Hope you all like where things are going now. hehehe.