Asmodai the Scythe(Rewritten)

When they arrived at their house Shuri as usual was waiting for her family. She had already started to prepare dinner as they normally arrived at the same time every day. She was glad they took weekends off to spend more time with her. 

Sometimes it was better to take time off training to enjoy some family time. Shuri took the three growing children into her arms. When she did so, she was reminded of the fact that Fallen Angels mature faster than humans. 

At just 10 years old, Kurayami was already 5'5 and he was starting to lose his baby face. Raynare and Akeno were shorter than him as they were girls, but they were still above the norm for humans of that age. 

Raynare was only 5'1, while Akeno was 5'3. It made her sad that in another year or two, they would probably start puberty as was expected for Fallen Angels. Once that happened they would begin to mature rapidly. 

She was sad and proud as this was just the expected outcome from how far they trained since they were 4. They had drawn out the power of their bloodlines and that came with maturation. 

For now, she glanced at hollow eyes which were a little brighter than usual. Something good had happened today. She was curious what it was about, maybe he had begun to notice Raynare. 

"I am glad you are all back home. Did anything of interest happen today?"

Raynare nodded with a happy smile.

"Azazel will be forging my new scythe. No longer will Kurayami and Akeno get all the glory."

Shuri smiled, but inside she was dying. 

'Guess not.' 

On another note, she might not be big on weapons, but she knew how much Kurayami and Akeno loved theirs. Since they had been forged, Akeno and Kurayami put a lot of time into mastering them. 

She turned to Kurayami who still had the first sword Azazel made for him, Submission. She wondered why he named it that when the new one Azazel made for him was named Rebellion. 

She wondered about the names for a few moments as they were opposites. 

'Submission and Rebellion is he trying to go for a polarity of names?' 

Seeing her curious about the names, he answered her questions. 

"You are not off the mark mom. The names of the swords are supposed to be opposites. Azazel told me that names have power, so I gave them memorable names." 

"I see. They certainly are memorable." 

Rebellion spoke up to him in private. 

'You're not going to tell them about me?' 

'There is no need, Rebellion. When I forged you in my first life, I created you to allow me to rebel against the world. As for Submission, it was made as a gift, so I named it as such to be an order against my foes. You either submit or you die.'

'That's my Master, you are still the man who waged a war against the entire world alone and brought them to their knees. If only you had the power you hold now.' 

'I agree.' 

"On another note, the time is here for me to reforge it as when Azazel made it he made it for me when I was 4. It was still a greatsword back then, but now it's starting to look like a longsword. I am outgrowing it."

Shuri had noticed that he gave it a lot of attention. 

"As long as you feel happy with the result. Now then, let's all set the table." 

Everyone stoped talking about weapons and went into the house. Everyone helped get the dinner table ready. While they did so, Kurayami noticed how Baraqiel always looked at his wife with love. And she loved him back just as much as he did. 

'Is that what marriage is supposed to be? Trusting another when you are most vulnerable.' 

As he thought that, he noticed that Raynare was stuck close to Shuri when Baraqiel was not there. Shuri also noticed and smiled at Raynare. 

"Do you like spending time with me?"

She nodded with a smile. 

"I do. You remind me of my mom in a good way.' 

Shuri just stroked her hair with a kind smile. 

"Just call me Shuri then. Or better yet call me Mom." 

As she said that she gazed at her son, who had finished setting the table. Instead of looking at her, he kept looking straight ahead with that usual blank stare

'Nothing? I thought that would cause him to react.'

Raynare smiled and nodded. 

"Ok."

Once they started eating she saw how Kurayami was using more hot sauce than normal. She even made his portion extra spicy, but it seemed that was not enough. 

"Kurayami. What foods do you want time to make?"

Raynare and Akeno looked nervous at the thought. He answered with no hesitation.

"Extra spicy Mapo Tofu."

Shuri was about to ask about it, but Raynare shook her head and warned everyone.

"Don't listen to him. It's too spicy."

Akeno agreed with fake fear. 

"He nearly killed us."

Shuri got curious about it.

"Did you eat it at Grigori or something?"

Raynare nodded as she pointed at Kurayami.

"At Grigori, he tricked us into eating it. Just one spoonful and my mouth was on fire. Just ask Akeno."

When she turned to her daughter she nodded with fear in her eyes. Now Shuri wondered just how spicy it was. She looked at her son who looked like he wanted some now. His eyes were glowing a little after all. 

"What did it have?"

He thought about it.

"I added Ghost peppers."

Shuri looked at that wide-eyed.

"You sure love spicy food."

He nodded as spicy food was the best it helped him bring expression to his face. They went back to eating the meal which was not spicy much to Kurayami's disappointment. When they finished everyone washed their dish to make it easier on Shuri.

Finally, they all went to bed with Kurayami in his room, Akeno in hers, and Raynare in her room. At this age, they all got their rooms as Kurayami was not good with sleeping with others around. 

It was a result of his past life where sleep was a risky time. Once he was here, he placed Submission on his lap. He looked at the large blade that he was starting to outgrow. 

It was still a large sword, but he preferred them larger. He placed a hand on the blade and ran his hand through it. 

As he did so, it felt as if the blade reacted to his touch. After tempering the blade as he had done, it was ready to be refroged, but he would do it. He did not want to let his blacksmithing skills get rusty after all. 

He laid down and slept with the sword not in his hands, but next to him. Time had allowed him to start to recover from his PTSD if only a little bit. 

---

The next day, when everyone gathered for breakfast. Baraqiel looked at Raynare who was all giddy. 

"I see you're excited."

"Of course, I will get my weapons like Rebellion and Danatheum."

Plus, it was a weapon of legend made by maybe the smartest man in the three factions. Azazel was ever-improving and trying to learn more. The progress he had made by studying Incinerate Anthem and the Virtra sacred gears was large.

After they finished the meal Raynare, Akeno, and Kurayami got ready to go. Today they wanted to go fly so they took flight alongside Baraqiel who moved slower to make sure they could keep up. They were not slow, but still not at the speed of Baraqiel.

When they arrived, at the base in the human world, they took the elevator to the Underworld where Azazel was waiting for them. He looked quite impatient and wanted to start already. He was the most excited as Raynare and Kurayami had the flames he wanted to use. Akeno was a sideline this time as her magic-produced flames were excellent, but not what he wanted.

When Azazel noticed them arrive, he motioned for them to follow him

"Finally you're both here. We can make her scythe and temper Rebellion, and you can Reforge Submission. In my time, I have been trying to find a way to allow for the best with holy fire and the cursed flames of Viritra and I finally found the best way to do it."

Akeno raised her hand to get his attention.

"What about me?"

"I can temper your spear if that is what you want. What was its name?" 

"Danatheum." 

Azazel wondered why she named it that, but she didn't know. It just popped into her head. Regardless, they followed him into his lab where the magic happened. Azazel had already gotten his metal stores out and began to place the ones that were going to be used in her scythe. Unlike Rebellion he placed more Stygian Iron which he got from certain weapons from Hades that he acquired with his dealings.

Demigods lose their weapons quite easily, so he got them and melted them down. Not to mention that most of the Grim Reapers used the metal in their weapons and they were not hard to buy.

He got some Celestial Bronze, the femur bone of Undead Dragon, and a black market item. The soul of an Intermediate Grim Reaper who was killed and had his essence captured to sell on the Black Market. 

And something extra special was something he made himself. A chunk of metal from the heart of the mountain. He learned that one from dwarves and their stupid forging magic they did not teach him. He will show them he is better than them. 

"Alright, the materials are ready. I made this new forge that will work best for both your flames, so get ready. Place your hands on either end."

Akeno and Baraqiel watched quietly as this was up to the both of them. They were the ones with the special fire so this was more interesting to watch.

They both placed their hands where he was while he got the metal and other materials ready. First, he crushed the bone into powder while they began to fill the forge with their flames.

Kurayami had gotten quite good at mixing his Death mana with his flames which caused the flames to begin to darken. This caused a positive reaction with Raynare's flames as they fed off each other to grow stronger. 

In the middle of the forge, the flames turned almost a bright shade of purple for his work. The enchantments in the forge drew in ambient mana instead of air to cause them to get even hotter. 

Once the flames were ready, Azazel began to work with tongs he placed in the Stygian Iron. The crucible he placed in began to heat the metal until it began to melt into a black slag. 

He kept adding more until all the Stygian Iron was melted which led to the next step. Azazel added the crushed bone into the slag which caused it to writhe and bubble as if toxic. 

"Ok, Raynare are you already adding your Death Magic?" 

She shook her head. 

"No. It's not me." 

Azazel looked over to Kurayami. 

"Is that you?" 

"Yes."

Azazel did not know how to take that, Kurayami had never said he used Death Magic before. 

"You can use Death Magic?" 

"Yes." 

"Why didn't you say so?" 

"You didn't ask." 

Azazel shook his head. 

"Not important. Raynare add yours in and Kurayami increase the concentration." 

Both of them did as told which caused the flames inside to begin to look more like miasma than proper flames. But to offset this, Kurayami increased the concentration of Holy Energy which was just what was needed. 

All this energy was drawn to the metal and began to refine it. This step did not take long, only a minute as the flames began to grow in intensity. The reaction of Positive and Negative Energy was causing this effect. 

"Good, now we wait for the metal to temper." 

They had to keep the forge at the intensity for the best effect. When he thought it was at the best he took it out and poured the metal into a large mold. Once the metal became a large black it was time to get to work.

Here was the easy part in his opinion, but if anyone heard him say that they would curse him out as this was far from easy. That was just how confident he was in his skill.

He kept reheating the ingot in the forge every time it began to cool while he hammered it into shape. Baraqiel and Akeno kept watching without blinking much as this was quite fascinating to watch. Azazel kept a firm look on his face as if he failed it would mean that Michael was right.

At the 5-hour mark, the shape of the large curved scythe was finished so he dunked it into the magical oil. Once this was finished the rest was up to the magic in the scythe as his job was mostly done.

As the scythe was still hot, he attached it to the premade handle. The instant the handle and blade were attached, the scythe began to absorb mana passively in droves. 

Azazel had a stupid smile on his face as he wanted to rub it in the face of Michael. It may not be sacred gear, but it was better in his opinion. Once the scythe was out a dark aura hung around the scythe.

The dark black and red scythe seemed to writhe with Holy and Necrotic energy all in one. But it needed one last step. He brought out the container that had the Grim Reaper's soul which he cut against the blade. 

At this, the Reaper's soul was drawn into the scythe. The essence of his soul gave life to the scythe which began to hum and warp a little. 

"While I may not be a dwarf I bet those old bastards would take me in any day."

If any dwarf heard that they may just agree. He handed it to Raynare who took it in her hands. The moment she touched it like what happened to Kurayami and Akeno spikes went through her hands. She was ready and the connection to her scythe was finalized. The tattoo of a skull appeared on her right shoulder and she came up with the name Asmodai.

(Translates to Wrathful Demon essentially.)

They watched as the scythe seemed to refine itself as a large eye opened up on the blade. Seeing that made Azazel remember that scythe of Azrael. That thing had an eye that looked just like that so maybe it ran in the family.

Baraqiel was surprised to see it.

"Your scythe almost looks just like his. Just less scary."

Azazel nodded as he looked at the blinking eye on the weapon.

"I got to agree, that thing could kill with one look. This one is like a baby compared to that scary thing."

It entered her arm and disappeared. She was giddy with her new weapon, but now it was Rebellion's tempering time. Kurayami spoke to her. 

'You going to be ok.' 

'Of course.' 

Kurayami brought Rebellion out who was just as brutal as when she was forged. He did this himself as he placed her in the forge where she fed on the flames a bit. Rebellion fed on the flames and energy in the forge to temper her body. 

Overall the process was barely needed, but it was helpful. Once Kurayami was done, Akeno was allowed to do the same as all the weapons were treated. Later on, this would cause all three to contain Negative and Positive Energies for all foes. 

Kurayami had something to say about his friend these days. 

"Azazel. You sure you ain't part dwarf."

Azazel shrugged with a smile.

"Maybe God just was jealous of Odin and made me like that. If anything he did a perfect job I do have to say so myself."

Kurayami did not refute that. 

"Whatever you say, pal. But if you are done, mind me borrowing your forge? I still got to reforge Submission." 

"If you want to use it be my guest. Also, I have a favor to ask. Would you be willing to make Fire Seeds for me?" 

Fire Seeds were flames that were compressed into a near-solid state to be used later. Azazel explained what he wanted to do with them. 

"We can make weapons and armor for more Fallen who are on active duty as you know we are technically at war. We can make one for Baraqiel." 

The Great War was never officially ended and it was more like an unsteady ceasefire. As such getting better quality gear would be a godsend. Any edge over the others would be better. Baraqiel was interested. 

"As long as they agree to it Azazel. What do you think?"

Kurayami agreed on that with no issue.

"I do not mind at all. This is pretty good training as it makes us use our flames with careful control."

Raynare nodded as she agreed. Seeing how this was a win Azazel offered them something they wanted.

"I heard you wanted familiars. We got a place that is full of interesting things there. You can go there and see what you find. Well I got to go take a nap, I am exausted. Also, Kurayami, use whatever metal you feel like." 

Azazel tossed him a spatial ring which he caught as he needed these metals to reforge Submission. Once Azazel left, Kurayami turned to everyone else as he wanted to be alone for this. 

"Can I ask for some privacy. This will be something I need to do alone." 

Baraqiel nodded. 

"Of course son. Come along girls." 

Akeno and Raynare looked back at Kurayami who was ready to pick up the hammer again. It had been nearly 30 years since he forged the original Rebellion. Once the door closed to the forge, his stiff face began to twitch a little. 

A very distorted grin covered his features as it was Harold who taught him how to forge.