NOVEL NEXT Ink and Ice, Soul and Light… Devoured…
I fell behind a bit, but we're getting back on track! I'll speed up the next chapters, so don't worry.
Also, as always, if anyone wants to support me or just read 3 out of 7 chapters of my two stories, that's possible on my (P)(A)(T). If not, I still appreciate you reading my stories!
Oh, and I'll be posting the Hunter story again. It's my secondary story, so when something happens, I pause it for a while. Everything's back to normal now, so I'll resume posting there.
Finally, have a good night and happy reading!
(P)(A)(T)/CalleumArtori
[...]---[...]
I realized later, while organizing the materials just before starting to work, that it would be better to soak the Wall Creeper's web line before stitching it into the Deerclops leather. The end result wouldn't make much of a difference as far as I knew, but it would be much easier and less laborious this way.
It would also be better to create the ink I wanted to use first, so that when I finished the armor, it would be truly complete. As for the ink, well...
I can only say that creating this specific ink was a pure and complete disaster that took seven hours to get ready.
I wanted the creation of this ink to involve mana and nightmare energy, unlike the ink used on the Humvee, which was created using only mana, without spiritual energy.
Of course, the Scarlet Ore in the Humvee's ink had spiritual energy, but it was much less than the amount of mana and the energy hadn't been used in the creation of the ink itself, in the preparation; it was more of a passive presence, there in a small amount thanks to the ore, but minimal.
This time, no, I wanted an ink where both mana and nightmare energy were used in the creation itself, an ink that would be perfect for the armor I was creating, that would resonate perfectly with everything, whether the materials in the armor or with me.
Creating something like that was... complicated, to say the least.
Finding resonance between the materials wasn't that difficult, the Deerclops had given me more than half of the list and the rest was relatively simple to figure out with the help of the (CHAT).
Creating inks was actually one of (CHAT)'s favorite "Events," whether it was (CHAT-GENERAL) or (CHAT-FATES). The new viewers seemed to agree, Jinn specifically loved to help and could barely sit still.
After organizing the materials, it was time to start preparing the ink. That's when the real problem began.
I even had the idea of something to help me, using the matrix that Dylan's mother had made for me as an improvised workspace.
Basically, the barriers around the internal matrix isolated the interior from the exterior, preventing the world's mana from entering, which was perfect for something I had in mind.
Once the barriers were up, it was easy to command the Shadowflame and use my Semblance to consume all the mana inside the barrier that wasn't mine and then flood everything with my own mana and nightmare energy, creating my own "Mini-Biome."
"I'm going to need to create something like this with my own hands later. A real workspace," I murmured, running my tongue over my teeth. Remnant's mana had a strange taste, almost like stagnant water. Was the "water" drinkable? Yes, but not flowing as it should have been originally.
With that, I only needed to figure out the exact amount of each material and how I would regulate my mana and nightmare energy while mixing the ink. The Shadowflame helped me again here, greatly shortening the time needed.
Without the flame, I estimated it would take twice as long to finish, maybe even more.
Having a magical fire that I could control the temperature of precisely was incredibly useful, much better than the fire I normally used with slime gel.
The Shadowflame could also consume everything inside the cauldron, whether it was mana, nightmare energy, or parts of the materials inside, which helped regulate the mixture much more easily and accurately than if I were doing it manually.
Was it still a hassle to balance all the ingredients together with the energies? Yes, I even had to exclude some materials completely from the recipe and add others I hadn't thought of using, which messed things up a bit.
But thanks to the Shadowflame, everything went much more smoothly and I obtained my first Pink rarity item, one of my own creation, no less.
-//-
[Nightmare-Mana Dye]
Type: Material
Rarity: Pink
Color: Pearlescent Black
Description: An ink made with energies and materials from various worlds, but prepared by a human who belonged to none of them in a "World" created by himself.
Materials:
Green slime gel (Terraria): 233 ml per cauldron.
Deerclops Horn Powder (Don’t Starve): 73 g per cauldron.
Deerclops Fur (Don’t Starve): 31 g per cauldron.
Deerclops Meat (Don’t Starve): 182 g per cauldron.
Mana Stone (Terraria): 98 g per cauldron.
Ice Dust (Remnant): 87 g per cauldron.
Shiverthorn (Terraria): 92 g per cauldron.
[...]
-//-
I even earned an achievement because of this, something that hadn't happened in a while. Even killing the Deerclops hadn't given me an achievement for some reason, even though it was a boss.
Maybe because it wasn't native to Terraria? Or the stream didn't consider its death an achievement in itself?
[Achievement unlocked!: PinKreation! - 5000000 SP!]
Five million SP was a huge number that left me with thirteen million SP, enough to upgrade the VoidBag once more if I wanted to.
The effort to create this ink was worth it. The Humvee, with everything used on it, wasn't of Pink rarity; hell, even the Ice Blade wasn't, despite having a Legendary Prefix. The only item, or ex-item, in this case, that I had above this rarity was the Shadowflame, but that was the flame at its peak, which was something distant at the moment.
Did I have any idea why the ink was qualified for Pink rarity while all the other items weren't? No, but Pink was better than the previous rarities, and that was enough for now.
After creating the ink, I soaked some spools of thread using it and dried them with the Shadowflame. Then, I finally started working on the armor.
I can only say that creating something with such detail, attention, and delicacy was time-consuming. Not tiring or boring; my vitality prevented the former, and my concentration blocked the latter.
To be honest, it was somewhat fun, even though it was complicated and required all my attention. I barely noticed the time passing once I started working. If it weren't for someone occasionally appearing to talk to me, I wouldn't have realized that three days had passed.
That surprised me a bit, to be honest. It wasn't just that I hadn't noticed the days passing, but that I hadn't slept at all and barely ate. Even so, I was fine.
My mind wasn't tired, my body wasn't hungry.
My thoughts were as clear as the first second I started working; mental fatigue just didn't seem to reach me for some reason.
Could I stay awake for days before? Yes, but over time, the lack of sleep would start to affect me; little by little, my thoughts would become slower and tired, but not now…
Something had changed in me thanks to the Shadowflame. I knew that the moment the test ended, but I hadn't realized what exactly and how significant that change was.
No matter how detailed the matrix of Mystic Symbols I was creating, how many Symbols I needed to engrave in sequence, burning the leather with the Shadowflame and then stitching over it, no matter the size of such Symbols, I could sew them calmly, fluidly, without errors, my concentration never wavering.
All this effort, this concentration, was less than the 'mental regeneration' I had. Theoretically, I could do this forever without getting tired…
How abnormal had I become without realizing it?…
Well, at least not making mistakes here was a good thing, as any error would have an annoying consequence.
I wasn't painting the Mystic Symbols as I would normally do, but engraving them with fire on the Deerclops leather and then stitching over the engraving. A mistake, say, in the middle, would require me to restructure the matrix or redo it completely.
That, no matter how my mental state was, would stress me out, whether because of the time or materials lost, especially the ink.
No way in hell would I waste this thing.
My control over my mana and nightmare energy had also increased significantly during this time. Imbuing each piece of leather, fur, and thread with equal amounts of mana and nightmare energy was laborious and required attention. It took me a while to get the 'trick,' but after figuring out how to do it, it was easy to automate.
Still, I asked to be left in silence. I wanted to finish this armor as quickly as possible and go do all the other things I had to do.
I'm sure that if I hadn't said I didn't want to be interrupted or disturbed while putting the finishing touches on the armor, everyone would have been watching me finish it from the corner of the room, even though they could watch from the stream.
Ruby and Jinn, specifically, had the brilliant idea that went something like this: "If we stay quietly in the corner, no one will see us, and we can watch up close." Funny, I could hear and see them clearly and sent them outside.
Those two had become friends very quickly; red and blue weren't supposed to be enemies or something? At least that's how it was in Pokémon…
Ignoring the green points camping outside the room waiting for me to finish the armor to come in, I started engraving the Runes in the space between the Mystic Symbols matrix that I had left specifically for this.
I spent the next few hours engraving the Runes using the Shadowflame, concentrating the flame on the tip of my finger, with my hand still wearing the 'glove' made by the eight hands of the Bone Helm.
Engraving the runes was, in my opinion, the most complicated part, not the most time-consuming, but the most difficult. If it were before, I would have been afraid that something might go wrong, but I was much more experienced and confident in the Runes I created to let that happen.
In the end, after a total of four days, contrary to the three I originally expected, my armor was ready.
Interestingly, I didn't need to name the armor, unlike the others I had made; this one already had a name.
It also had a prefix for some reason.
-//-
[Remnant of the Deerclops]
Runes: Protection/ Defense/ Resistance/ Hardening/ Resistance(Elemental)/ Resistance(Magic)/ Resistance (Foreigner).
Type: Armor.
Rarity: Pink.
Prefix: Remnant of Memory (Unique).
Mystic Symbols (Human):
Cut Protection (High-Peak), Impact Protection (High-Peak) , Piercing Protection (High-Peak), Magic Protection (High-Peak), Cold Protection (Extreme-Peak), Ice Protection (Extreme-Peak), Fire Protection (High-High), Darkness Protection (Extreme-Peak), (+)
Defense: 1888.
[..]
Set Effect(1): When equipped by "Devas Asura," the armor's effects are increased by 50% due to mana resonance.
Set Effect(2): When equipped with "Bone Helm," it is possible to regenerate the durability by consuming "Nightmare Energy" due to the resonance between the items.
Set Effect(3): When equipped in freezing environments, it increases the efficiency of all "Nightmare Energy" due to resonance with the ice element. The colder it is, the higher the efficiency.
[..]
Remnant of Memory - Oh, pain, loneliness, ice... Insanity...
Description: When equipped by "Devas Asura," along with the "Bone Helm" in freezing environments, it is possible to mimic the ability: "Hallucination Storm."
Hallucination Storm:
Insanity, loneliness, hallucinations, and ice, let them all out, let them go outside, to all sides, make them rain like a storm, cover everything as a forewarning, a warning...
... The Deer has Awoken...
[..]
Description: Created with the body of an enemy from another world, a being covered and taken by darkness, madness, and ice... The armor created from its remains couldn't be different...
An armor created by "The Streamer," using energies, items, and skills from various worlds, all resonating in a single armor created in an improvised environment...
The entire armor resonates as one with its creator, almost alive, a remnant, an ancient memory, holding within it a simple question:
What came first? The deer, the Insanity, or the ice?...
How foolish such a question... The answer was simple...
... They were always one.
-//-
I'm not going to lie here; this turned out better than I expected. Holy shit...
How the hell did this ability appear?! How strong was the Deerclops' genetic memory for this to happen?!
Fuck if I couldn't change the Prefix of this armor, I would easily accept this one over any other.
It took about five seconds for the forge door to open and a speedy Ruby to rush through and hit the barrier I was in.
"Let me see, please!" I managed to translate Ruby's muffled speech, as she made sure to take her face off the barrier. It was funny, along with the happy mood I was in thanks to the successful creation of my armor, I ended up laughing.
A completely involuntary and happy laugh, if I were to say something, but it might sound different to others given that the place I was in was filled with nightmare energy, along with the Bone Helm and the Shadowflame still covering my body, my laugh must have sounded much more sinister than I expected.
"So, Mr. Demon of the Forge, could you come out of that ball of darkness and evil so my dear sister doesn't hurt herself banging her head on the barrier trying to get in?" Yang asked, entering the room right after Ruby, followed by Jinn, Weiss, Blake, and everyone else.
Why the hell Ozpin and James were here, I didn't know. What day was it today? Wasn't everyone supposed to be working or in class?
What time was it actually?
"Mr. Demon?" I turned off the matrix and pulled everything back into the VoidBag. "It's not that much."
I took a step aside, dodging a speedy Ruby who began inspecting the armor. At least she wasn't trying to put it on. Although it shouldn't be dangerous, it was better not to risk it.
"Not that much?" Weiss raised a single eyebrow and pointed to the shadows in the room that seemed darker and had red tendrils.
("This place is nostalgic for some reason... How strange!") Lucy threw her two cents into the conversation.
If she, of all people... Axes, thought that, there was a problem here.
I drew all the nightmare energy in the room back into myself and burned any residue with the Shadowflame, just to be sure. I only stopped when everything had returned to normal.
“See, nothing to worry about. Everything’s normal here.” I scattered some Purification Powder around the room using the VoidBag just to ensure nothing would spawn from the shadows once I left. “So, what brings you all here, besides the obvious? Shouldn't you be in class or working?”
“It’s eleven at night. Classes are long over.” Blake pointed to the window. It was dark outside. Ah, that’s why Millia wasn’t with them; she was probably asleep.
A quick glance at my phone confirmed it was [23:12] on a Monday. It had been nine days since I came to Remnant.
“We’ve thought of a way to save Amber, but we need your help.” Jinn answered after a few seconds. She was standing beside Ruby, both of them holding parts of my armor.
“As Miss Jinn said, we were waiting for you to finish your armor to ask for your help.” Ozpin stepped forward. “As for James, he wants to introduce someone who might help us heal Amber.”
I glanced at the minimap. There was no one else behind them. I didn’t sense anything either.
“I presume this person isn’t here.” Ozpin nodded. “Well, I’m free now, shall we? I want to resolve Amber's situation as soon as possible.” The sooner we handled this, the sooner I could grab my armor and hunt the Summer Maiden.
Not to mention I had other tasks, like adding Runes and Mystic Symbols to my ship when it arrived.
I also needed to check in with Serafall; she said it might take a while to get the feathers, but damn, I didn’t think it’d be this long.
“No need to rush; you must be exhausted after working for six days straight.” James spoke with respect and admiration. “Impeccable work ethic, I must say. A commendable mindset too.”
“I’m fine, don’t worry.” I waved off his concern. “We can go now; I want to get this out of the way.” I wasn’t tired, not even hungry; the little I had eaten was enough to sustain me.
If needed, I could always pull some cereal bars from the VoidBag and eat.
I also discovered that, thanks to the Shadowflame not burning me, I could literally incinerate any waste directly inside my body, so I basically never needed to use the bathroom.
Useful for prolonged battles or, in this case, long creation sessions without wanting to take a break. It should be handy against poison too, as I could burn it directly in my blood.
I needed to see if I could merge the Shadowflame with Sun Breathing; theoretically, it should be possible, even if complicated.
After a brief conversation and some congratulations on the armor, I stored it in the VoidBag, to Ruby and Jinn’s disappointment, and we headed towards the Vault where Amber was.
Team RWBY was coming along too, though I wasn’t sure why; Jinn explained that Weiss and Winter were needed for the plan, or rather, their Semblances were.
Ruby, Yang, and Blake had come just to keep company.
“Basically, you want me to extract the soul parasite from Amber so Winter can kill it and summon it back with her Semblance while Weiss assists?” It was a good plan but had some flaws. “What if she can’t do it fast enough?”
That was why I hadn’t done it yet. I could clone this parasite into a Nightmare; time was the issue.
“Actually, forget that. How will Amber’s soul recover?” Removing the parasite was the easy part, cloning it too; the real issue was Amber’s recovery.
Ozpin was quicker than Jinn to respond.
“Miss Jinn and CHAT had the idea for a potion to aid her recovery. It’s a slow process, but it should help her recover faster.”
“Fast enough to prevent her soul from collapsing without the parasite?” I asked before realizing what they were aiming for. “If Winter can create a parasite herself, it can support the soul while Amber recovers.”
I had thought of this before but hesitated. Even if I created a Nightmare to perform the same function as the parasite, I doubted it would be healthy for a fragile soul to recover with something made of pure malice right beside it.
With the Schnee Semblance, that problem didn’t exist. Weiss had explained that, although she couldn’t summon the Grimm she had killed, she knew much about the ‘technique’ thanks to Winter.
The Grimm they summoned weren’t imbued with malice like normal Grimm. The Schnee Grimm, so to speak, were made of Aura, not negative emotions and bad feelings.
“Do you have the potion ready?” I asked as the elevator doors opened.
“Nope.” Jinn popped the 'P' and pulled out her phone.
[JinnOfTheLamp] If everything goes as planned, we’ll need one of those fruits you received from the Dryad to prepare the potion and more of Aqua’s hair. I took one fruit for testing when you let me have that little box, but we’ll need more.
“One of the fruits?…” I understood about Aqua’s hair, but why one of the fruits?… “For the passive mana regeneration.” I realized after a few seconds.
“Yep.” Jinn popped the 'P' again before giggling.
[JinnOfTheLamp] Amber’s Maiden powers are directly linked to her soul. A regular mana potion wouldn’t help much, it’d be like pouring water into a broken cup. In this case, a potion made with the fruit would help the ‘cup’ regenerate by stimulating her Maiden powers.
I hadn’t thought of that. Actually, I’d almost forgotten about those fruits. It had been a while since I was close to running out of mana, so their existence slipped my mind.
Maybe because I wanted to avoid thinking about Alalia’s existence… But that’s just a maybe…
It was a good plan; the only ‘downside’ was that if everything worked out, I wouldn’t be the one killing the parasite, and I kind of wanted to do that to copy it…
I’ll see if I can do it without killing the thing. I didn’t want to try before because of my lack of control over my spiritual energy; any wrong move and Amber would die.
But now, after all this 'training', along with the Bone Helm and the armor, I was confident I wouldn’t accidentally kill Amber.
I let my thoughts wander as we walked towards Amber. From the corner of my eye, I noticed four dots on the location we were heading to: two green, one red, and one yellow.
The yellow was Amber, the red was the parasite, and one of the green ones was Winter. But who was the other one? Probably the person James wanted to introduce to me. It was a bit strange that their dot was already green; that usually didn’t happen.
As we got closer, I realized two things. First, the person James wanted to introduce me to was innocent, very, very innocent. I couldn't sense any negative energy from them; their emotions were crystal clear, pure, like those of a baby.
Second, the person had no flesh… I realized this the moment they came within the range of the VoidBag. I could practically pull their entire body into my inventory.
What the hell is this?...
“You know, I didn’t expect this…” I murmured in amazement as I looked at the person in front of me. “I really didn’t expect this…”
“The changes to the place or the ‘person’ in front of you?” James asked, amused.
“Both… Actually, no, just her.” I muttered. To hell with the new equipment they had brought down here, the girl in front of me was what amazed me.
Ruby giggled at my reaction. She had mentioned something about a Penny before, hadn’t she? From the confused looks of the other three, it seemed Ruby was the only one among them who knew what Penny really was.
Penny Polendina was her name, a girl of average height. Well, at least for the women of my world, being one meter sixty-five in Remnant, with all the giants I had met, was probably short.
She had auburn hair that fell and curled just above her shoulders, green eyes that looked at me with barely contained, almost childlike curiosity, as if she were discovering the world for the first time.
Her clothes, while resembling an Atlesian military uniform, also reminded me a bit of a doll’s: a long-sleeved white blouse along with a light gray dress with green details and black boots that reached up to her thighs.
She didn’t just look like a doll; she was a doll.
Penny Polendina was an Android; her body was made of metal. I could feel the parts with the VoidBag more clearly now that I was a few steps away from her.
I could sense every gear, mechanism, even the swords she had on her back, but still…
“You have a soul…” I said in complete amazement, my eyes glowing orange as I looked at the ‘core’ of the girl in front of me, where, of all things, there was a soul…
Frankly, I shouldn’t be surprised just by this. I had knowledge of various possible realities, had 'seen' much more impressive things than this, but still, a part of me couldn’t help but marvel at the sight before me.
Penny Polendina was an Android, but she was also human; she had a human soul inside her, something created, not born, formed from a piece of another soul, but which developed, evolved into a soul of its own.
Fragile? Yes. Weak and small, childlike, but still… It was a soul that was slowly growing.
She was alive…
“SA.LU.TA.TION!” Penny said in a cheerful tone. Her voice was fake, I could tell right away, synthetic. Her body was fake, metal, not flesh, but the emotion behind the voice was real.
I could feel that clearly.
“Greetings, Penny, pleased to meet you.” Her eyes widened mechanically, artificially. The surprise emanating from her was not.
“You know my name?!.” Penny turned to James. “Uncle, you said it was a surprise, did you tell him?”
“No, I didn’t, Penny.” James didn’t mind her calling him uncle; it was probably something he had told her to do.
“Curious, did you analyze her? Miss Rose said she hadn’t told you about Penny, just mentioned her in the stream, but never her surname.” Ozpin scratched his chin. I shook my head.
Even if Ruby had mentioned Penny before on the CHAT, she hadn’t told me anything about the girl. No, that wasn’t why I knew her name.
“She told me.” I pointed to the center of Penny’s chest. “She’s still telling me, shouting her own name repeatedly as if she wants everyone to know it.”
It wasn’t really a voice, and I was sure I could understand what was being ‘said’ because of what Penny was, because of how her soul was something young, but I could ‘hear’… Actually, it was as if she were shouting specifically for me to hear…
Penny’s soul was like a child, jumping joyfully while proudly repeating ‘Penny Polendina,’ repeating her name with pride. Something about that made me happy, proud for some unknown reason…
“Oh!… Of course. Quite obvious, actually…” I exclaimed before laughing. It was obvious, to be honest. I was just slow to notice due to the surprise Penny caused me.
“You’re like me…”
My soul was also something that wasn’t born with my body, something newly born and, in a way, just like Penny’s soul, artificial, created based on something else, still evolving… Always evolving.
Penny stopped literally rolling her eyes completely into her skull, searching for who inside her had said her name to me, and stared at me.
“You’re like me?…” She looked me up and down. “You don’t look like me, I’m a girl, and you’re a boy.” Penny repeated, tilting her head to the side, confused.
I took a deep breath and blinked, returning my eyes to their normal color.
“Congratulations, if this was some elaborate plan any of you came up with, it was a success.” I will destroy and tear to dust any creature that tries to harm the being in front of me…
“I can assure you that Penny’s presence here is solely to assist in Amber’s healing.” James replied. It wasn’t a lie, I could feel it. It was just coincidence, then.
What a fucking coincidence…
“You’re Ruby’s friend, right, Penny?” I turned to the girl in front of me and extended my hand. “Can I be your friend too?”
Her eyes literally lit up before she let out a joyful shout and hugged me with enough strength to break a normal person’s ribs. Seems like she didn’t know her own strength very well.
When she tried to lift me, I planted my feet on the ground and lifted her instead.
Her surprised laugh was truly contagious.
“Friend Ruby, I made another friend!” Penny ran to Ruby the moment I let her go and hugged her, laughing happily. Ozpin and James seemed amused, as did Jinn, who surely already knew what Penny was.
The only ones confused here were the CHAT and the WBY from Team RWBY.
“Can someone explain what the hell is going on?” Yang looked at Penny, who was hugging Ruby to death. “What did Ruby’s friend do to get that reaction from you?”
I didn’t answer and left the explanation to James and Winter. Penny must be some sort of Atlas secret; it wasn’t my place to say anything. But, given the fact that James introduced her to me, and it would be obvious that I’d instantly discover Penny’s body was metal…
“Penny Polendina is an Atlas Android.” James didn’t hesitate to say.
… He wasn’t planning on keeping it a secret.
“She’s what?!”
[…]
POV: Rin Tohsaka
"So, what do you need?" Devas pulled up a chair and sat down beside Ozpin and Jinn. Both team RWBY and James, Winter, and Penny stayed behind, sitting at a separate table from ours.
Penny was something I was still trying to wrap my head around. I knew the Einzberns had the most advanced homunculi in the world, but to create one using technology? An Android that, in Devas' own words, had a human soul?...
I didn't even want to think about what the Einzberns would be willing to pay for such knowledge, even if it didn't involve mystery...
I shook my head and refocused on the table. Everyone had the same avatars as before, mine still being made of 'Jungle Rose,' or so Devas had said.
"Didn’t you read our discussion in the CHAT?" Serafall asked, swinging her feet on the chair next to me. It was still strange to know that she was, of all things, a Devil.
Serafall didn’t fit the impression of the word 'Devil' I had in my mind.
"I did, but I prefer to hear what you think." Devas didn’t miss a beat. "I want my feathers too; I’m starting to suspect you want to steal them from me."
"I take offense at that. Know that I, Serafall Leviathan, the Satan Leviathan, take my contracts very seriously!"
"I’ll believe that when my pillow is made of angel feathers!"
Don’t freak out. Take a deep breath and calm down, Rin, you’re the heir Tohsaka. Something like a simple argument over a deal for literal angel feathers can't affect you.
Take a deep breath… One… Two…
"Here, here. No need to suspect me." Serafall waved her hand, and Devas glanced away, moving his hand, swatting the air, making two large boxes and two small ones appear.
"You need to thank me later. Do you know the work I had to put into getting these?" Serafall huffed like a child.
"Aren’t you a Maou?" Stark asked.
"I am, but I’m not immune to politics and old farts who insist on making my life difficult."
"Politics in the underworld, who would’ve thought." Stark didn’t seem surprised.
Serafall nodded and turned to Devas, starting to list.
"As agreed, 5000 angel feathers of two wings, 2500 angel feathers of four wings, 1500 angel feathers of six wings, 500 angel feathers of eight wings, and 100 angel feathers of ten wings. The same for the fallen angels."
No. Must. Not. Faint…
"None of twelve?" Devas said with amused tone. He was one of the few unaffected by Serafall’s words.
Except for Serafall herself and the other two Satans, Devas and Ainz were the only ones not affected. Everyone else, including Ozpin and Jinn, had varying degrees of surprise and shock.
"They are in the small boxes. 33 angel feathers and fallen angel feathers of twelve wings, 66 in total." Serafall waved towards the boxes. She didn’t seem to care about Devas's lack of reaction. "With that, the favor I owed you is also paid off."
"Yes. Do you want your questions answered now or some other time?" Devas opened one of the large boxes as he spoke. The glow of the feathers blinded me for a moment.
White, a pearly white. Even plucked from the angels' wings, the feathers still shimmered.
Why did I feel like I was seeing something that would make Kirei smile? I shuddered just at the thought. I’ll wash myself with salt later.
"Some other time, we’re a bit busy now, don’t… Devas?" Serafall spoke, her voice becoming confused at the end. Everyone at the table turned to look at Devas.
He was holding one of the feathers in his hand, looking directly at it, completely focused.
Then Devas opened his mouth. I could clearly see as the small golden veins appeared on his white teeth as he brought the feather to his mouth…
"Crack! Crack!"
… And bit it with all his might.
I couldn’t tell if the sound of something cracking was from Devas's teeth or from something in the feather. I just knew that, after a whole second, with everyone silent, the feather disintegrated into dust… Leaving only a small ball of golden light shining between his teeth…
"What a rotten taste…"
... The light of a God that Devas devoured.
[...]---[...]
Devas finally made an item of "Pink" rarity. I won't update the rarities just yet, only when the item is used in battle, so stay tuned.
Well, as for the armor, what can I say?... Devas has something to protect him for a while, an armor that can and will withstand blows from very strong beings. No Spoilers!
And now, the angel feathers...
A question, from everything I've shown about Devas, his entire past, as murky as it may be, what would be his first reaction to encountering something truly divine? Not from another world, like Aqua, but from Earth, an Earth that unlike his, had a God?...
Mysteries Devourer + Divine Anathema = Divinity being devoured.
I'll leave what may happen in the future for your thoughts.
Good night everyone and happy reading!
PS: The RWBY arc is ending on (P)(A)(T).
PSS: I didn't post the Devas status to avoid spoiling the armor; I'll post it tomorrow.