Chapter 61 Wisdom... Cube?

"It-Its you!" Said Musashi as she pointed at issei her shaking hand from the shock.

"What the hell just happened?" Asked Issei as he watched the woman stare at him.

"Musashi? is that you?" Asked Issei not believing his eyes.

"Yes, it is I.... you are the man that I met in my grave, Issei?" Answered Musashi after recalling her unexpected meeting with Issei.

"But.... but how? I accidentally dropped some kind of blue cube on you and when I wanted to pick it up just a single touch caused this and ... the ship... what... I'm very confused" Explained Issei as he rubbed his forehead trying his best to analyze this situation.

"I'm very confused too.... but you managed to bring me back to life as you promised, and the ship.... what did you do to it? it feels..... different and very light" Asked Musashi.

"After our meeting, I found it here on the shore damaged beyond repair so I spent quite some time rebuilding it completely and I made some upgrades, and the materials I used were surprisingly light" Explained Issei.

"Even the cannons were upgraded, and what is this sign?" Asked Musashi as she pointed at the dragon crest that was on the metallic arms.

"This is my crest, now you represent the Divine Dragon Empire" Explained Issei.

"Divine Dragon Empire?" Asked Musashi with confusion written all over her face.

"Yes, I am the emperor of the said empire" Said Issei.

"So I'm your tool now?" Asked Musashi.

"What!? No no no no no! definitely not the case! I'm not the kind of person to force people into doing something they don't want" Replied Issei quickly.

"I was just joking, anyway where are we?" Asked Musashi.

"I don't know how to tell you this but..... you are in a different world" Said issei.

"What do you mean?" Asked Musashi with a shocked expression.

"Well, there isn't any modern technology, but magic in that stead" Explained Issei.

"Magic?..... then how did you repair me no less modify me, when there is no technology?" Asked Musashi.

"That's because I am from another world too just summoned here as a hero to protect and as to how I repaired you is....kinda simple really, I believe you remember when I said I love Yamato-class warships so I had a good idea how to do my thing and the blueprints I found there helped out a lot, plus I had enough of materials and magic was handy but there a barely any electronics so I had to use magic to cover up for the lack of system support yada yada" Explained Issei.

"I see... it's hard to believe I'm in another world...with magic no less" Said Musashi.

'Well those cubes are like magic themselves' Thougt Issei to himself.

"Now let me ask you something..... how long were you....trapped in your grave?" Asked Issei.

"I...I honestly don't know... maybe years, months, or just a couple of weeks, I couldn't tell how much time passed when I was trapped there" Answered Musashi honestly.

"Alright, do you know what that blue cube was?" Asked Issei.

"Those cubes are called wisdom cubes, we are ship-girls that are created from the said cubes, they let the original ships take the form of what we call riggings as you see" Explained Musashi as she pointed at the ship parts that transformed into the huge arms with katana on the ground and canons on her new pair of arms.

"Wisdom Cube is a metaphysical object that contains the thoughts, ideals, and beliefs of humanity. This object is embodied in Ships and is their foundation. Additionally, Wisdom Cubes can be used offensively to achieve reality-altering effects, such as creating things from nothing or making thoughts, fantasies, ideals, and desires become reality"

"That's so fascinating... If Azazel heard of this..." Mumbled Issei.

"You said something?

"No, nothing it's fine for now"

"Anyway the rigging as you called it, is it directly connected to you?" Asked issei.

"Yes, the rigging is connected to me, we are one right now" Said Musashi as she turned to her side and Issei saw that indeed she was connected with it.

"So if you desire something the cube can grant you your wish?"

"In a way yes, I always desired to be strong enough to protect everyone and achieve victory in that long-lasting war... the cube gave me enough power to achieve my desire"

"Interesting, so it can create anything out of nothingness right?" Asked Issei with sparkles in his eyes.

"Well yes but that is something very hard and complex to achieve, you need to understand and imagine the thing you want to create, for example, if you want to create a shell, you'd need to know the material, exact measurements it's purpose and the number of shells you'll need, plus it takes a lot of mental energy" Explained Musashi in detail.

"I see... Could I possess such power?" Asked Issei.

"I doubt it, there are only ship-girls no male ships all of the experiments failed horribly when they tried to create a ship-boy or let humans absorb the cubes" Explained Musashi.

"I see..." Issei was a bit disappointed that he most likely won't be able to have such power but he was still very interested in the wisdom cube and had several ideas popping into his head already.

"Wait, do you have the other box?" Asked Musashi.

"Ah, Yes I do, it's safe you don't have to worry about it" Replied Issei.

"If you say so, just don't open it, it might be very dangerous as I don't know what the cube inside of the box does, I have discovered only the name and that it is superior to the wisdom cube, Master cube"

"Master cube?"

"Yes Master cube, it's all the information I have about it, sadly I failed to bring it back to base to examine it" Replied Musashi with guilt and sadness evident in her voice.

'Damn I'm too excited hearing about such a thing as wisdom and master cubes, I wonder...'

"I see....so what are you planning to do?" Asked Issei.

"I... don't know, I need to think this through but I'll stay with you as I want to repay you for bringing me back, I do not know this world anyway" Said Musashi.

"Good, now then I will go and train with my brother, you can come with me if you want or stay here and take your time to rest" Said Issei.

"Alright, I'll take a walk" Replied Musashi as she stood up.

"Okay, let's go then" Said issei as both of them left the cave.

Four days went by.

Once Issei introduced Musashi to Ddraig and Eclair both of them were shocked to hear the news from Issei that he succeeded in reviving the woman.

Musashi got used to being with Issei, Ddraig, and Eclair.

Musashi enjoyed spending time together with the trio especially Issei as he was the easiest to talk with while Ddraig usually slept, trained, or just flew around the mountain in his majestic form.

Eclair on the other hand... sometimes was cold to Musashi or seemed annoyed especially when Musashi spent time with Issei.

Issei already kinda knew that Eclair had feelings for him but was oblivious to noticing her extreme jealousy.

Eclair wanted to spend more time with Issei alone and finally confess her deep feelings that keep growing each day but she couldn't do that because Musashi is always with him.

These last four days tho Issei nor the trio didn't just slack off, they were working hard to train their bodies and skills.

Issei trained with Ddraig while Musashi trained with Eclair, they both wielded swords after all.

Surprisingly when Musashi joined Issei's party she didn't start from level one much like Ddraig.

She was level 102, and her skills were unique.

She had a complete mastery over her sword and had unique powers.

With a single slash of her katana, she can send a lighting slash called Violet lightning storm, or black and violet shadow summoning called shadow manipulation similar to Issei's shadow powers but in her case, Musashi can make perfect shadow clones who can use the same abilities but the more she summons the weaker her main body gets, she can summon about fifty shadow clones.

she can coat her sword in shadow and her limbs to enhance her agility and power.

But once she summons her rigging her level rises to 152.

Skills like shadow bullets or piercing lightning are added to her abilities.

She can use those giant robotic arms to hold the giant katana and summon another one in her other one with a shadow hilt and a violent blade crated from lightning.

She can only summon ten shadow clones with rigging summoned as it takes a lot of her energy and strength.

But Musashi trained only using her summoned katana to spar with Eclair.

This was the only way Eclair could really release all her anger by swinging her sword at Musashi.

After some thinking about the wisdom cubes Issei decided to ask Hisashi create something like wires, lightbulbs, and computers and she succeeded in creating those things except for cumputers, she didn't know how they work exactly but Issei was happy nonetheless and with the help of Musashi he was able to create some missing parts for the ship.

The end of fifth day after Musashi's awakening was coming to an end and the two brothers decided to sleep on the beach for the night while the girls stayed at the cave.

The night was peaceful, the sand was still warm and comfy as the two brothers laid on their backs and star-gazed.

"Soon all of this will be over and we will be able to go back to our world Ddraig... I just hope everything will be fine till then" Said Issei as he stared at the sky.

"Don't jinx it! but yeah, I too hope we can return home, I'm kinda tired of all of this saving the world crap" Said Ddraig.

"Well it's our only ticket back home so we need to save the world"

"Yeah yeah, I know, I'm just tired of all of this, I just want a peaceful life" Said Ddraig.

"Wait who are you? are you really THE Heavenly Dragon of Domination? the Red Dragon Emperor who always blabered about his rivalry and battles with many foes!" Asked Issei sarcastically.

"Shut it, but in all seriousness, I want to live a peaceful life, find a mate and have kids..." Said Ddraig with a smile as he let his imagination run wild.

"Don't worry pal, soon you'll get what you want" Said Issei with a smile as he imagined his mates and little kids running around.

The desire to return only grew stronger for Issei and an Idea appeared in his head.

"Ddraig, you remember when I talked to you about wisdom cubes?" Asked Issei.

"Yeah what about it?"

"Tomorrow I will try something with the master cube" Said Issei.

" 'Sigh' Alright, I understand, you can do whatever you want Issei, I'm always on your side and I'll support you with whatever you need but just be careful and don't die, at least let this ancient dragon die first" Said Ddraig with a smile.

"Sure pal, I think we should sleep now, good night" Said Issei as he closed his eyes.

"Good night brother" Said Ddraig as he did the same and both dragons fell asleep.

The next day arrived quickly and Issei was the first one to wake up.

Deciding not to wake anyone up he went further away from the cave.

After five minutes of morning walk, he decided to sit down after that he took the box out of his inventory and opened it.

Inside he found a glowing black and red cube.

"So this is the master cube" Said Issei out loud as he examined the cube in the box.

"I wonder what will happen if I..." Stretching his hand out he grabbed the cube and... nothing happened.

"I guess I can hold it"

*Scan complete: Class- Master cube, Power- Unknown, Abilities- Unknown, Threat- Unknown*

" 'Sigh' I see, couldn't discover anything with this cube either" Said Issei as he let out a disappointed sigh.

"Well I guess there's only one way to find out its abilities" Said Issei.

*I don't recommend taking the risk, your new companion warned about the failure of using wisdom cubes on males* Warned Claire.

"It's fine Claire, I feel confident that it will work out just fine" Said Issei, but he didn't feel just confidence, he felt excitement.

Excitement to gain new power something like Musashi.

He slowly brought the cube towards his chest and thrust it in.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH FUCK IT STINGS!" Shouted Issei as the cube slowly and painfully entered his body.

He was screeching and shouting from the extreme pain not knowing that the cube didn't simply enter his body, no, it entered his very soul and began altering it.

Black and red sparks began to appear around his body, his bright red aura began to surround him in an unstable manner.

Suddenly his eyes shined a bright red light and the light intensified more by the second.

His aura started to change from dominating bright red to dark, black, and red aura that became denser.

"Issei!" Shouted from a distance Eclair who was on Ddraig's back with Musashi flew towards Issei as quickly as possible.

The three felt Issei's aura but Ddraig didn't just feel his normal aura manifesting, he felt it change... and he didn't like the way it was changing.

Ddraig landed on the ground and the two women got down.

He transformed into his human form and the three ran toward Issei but once Musashi and Eclair got close they were blasted back by the force of his aura alone.

Thankfully Ddraig caught them and held them right as he created a barrier around them.

"What is happening to him!?" Shouted Eclair worried.

"I think I know what's happening" Said Musashi.

"You see the black-looking thing in his chest? It's a master cube that I had before I sunk, it's very dangerous and its abilities are unknown but deadly... I told him not to touch it..." Said Musashi as she watched Issei scream from the pain.

'So that's what you meant by trying out something with it... you reckless idiot...' Thought Ddraig as he watched his brother screech from the pain.

"This master cube is changing him... and not for the better" Said Ddraig.

"What do you mean?" Asked Eclair as if one problem was not enough already.

"It's something known in our world... it can happen if a dragon is betrayed a second time or his mates are killed, it changes for the worse the dragon becomes wicked, dark, cold, psychotic, sadistic, and much more... I can tell by his change of aura, I felt similar auras plenty of times" Said Ddraig as he continued to stare at Issei whose hair started to change color into deep black color and his eyes turned red.

His wings and fangs made their appearance too but his wings weren't the same, they were jet black just like his hair.

His aura grew stronger and stronger, and everything around him was getting destroyed, including things like trees and rocks.

"He's becoming an evil dragon" Said Ddraig.

"Evil....dragon?" Repeated Musashi with concern in her voice.

"Yes evil dragon, just as I explained earlier, they are just that bad, only a few kept their sanity after turning into evil dragons" Said Ddraig.

The two women became even more concerned, even Ddraig was afraid of the outcome.

"But I have no Idea why the cube made him like this, he is forcefully being changed" Said Ddraig.

Suddenly Issei stood up and summoned his boosted gear.

It was different from the original, the metal claw was completely black as the jewels were dark red just like Issei's eyes, the spikes were red too and looked even sharper than before.

Seconds later the boosted gear started to disintegrate into hundreds of small black and red cubes that started to swirl around Issei until they started to take shape.

"I can't believe what I seeing" Said Ddraig to himself as he watched Issei disintegrate the boosted gear that was created with god-tier materials.

The thousands of cubes flew behind Issei into four different points and slowly started to take shape.

Four metallic dragon heads formed with four eyes and four black horns each, they had red sharp and scary looking fangs and red tips on the horns.

The horns were on the sides going backward.

Once the four dragon heads formed Issei opened his glowing red eyes and the four dragon heads did the same at the same time.

Issei looked truly frightening with all the aura, sparks, and dragon heads floating behind him.

"ROOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRRR" Roared Issei with both pain and anger as dark energy burst out of his body.

But that didn't last too long and in a flash, all of the heads disappeared and transformed into black claws on both of Issei's arms as he fell on the ground and passed out cold.

"Issei!" Shouted both Eclair and Musashi as they ran towards Issei until Ddraig stopped them.

"Stop! it might be still dangerous to casually approach him after his transformation, good news tho, he isn't a full evil dragon, mostly fifty percent evil dragon so he should be fine but the risks of becoming a full evil dragon increased" Explained Ddraig as he picked up Issei.

"I'll bring him to the ship, we will depart soon" Said Ddraig.

"Understood" Replied Musashi while Eclair still looked worriedly at Issei as Ddraig carried him to the ship.

Meanwhile...

"Where am I?" Asked Issei after opening his eyes in an unfamiliar place.

Everything was dark like a void of nothingness.

Issei stood up and started to walk around to try and find something, anything.

"Hello? is someone here?" Asked Issei but got no response.

After a few minutes of walking a red glow shined from behind.

Issei turned around, looked upwards and he saw... the Master cube but it was giant floating, slowly spinning.

"What is going on here? where am I?" Asked Issei himself?

"I can answer that" Responded a dark voice.

Issei looked below the giant cube and saw a person sitting on a black throne.

He was looking down at the ground so Issei couldn't see his face.

What he noticed was pure black chains wrapped around the person on the throne binding him and preventing him from moving.

"Who are you!" Asked Issei as he assumed a battle stance ready to fight.

To be continued...